City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: March 22, 2022
Agenda Item: 3.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Edward F King, Director, Mobility (DOT)
Subject: Award Request for Proposal #290 and enter into Agreement with Steer for Administration of Transportation and Outreach Services for the Santa Monica Transportation Management Organization
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award RFP #290 Santa Monica Transportation Management Organization to Steer, a Los Angeles-based corporation, for the provision of professional services for the operation of a city-wide Transportation Management Organization;
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Steer in an amount not to exceed $750,000 for three years, with two additional one-year renewal options of $250,000, for a total amount not to exceed $1,250,000 for a total of five years, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval; and
3. Authorize budget changes as outlined in the Financial Impacts & Budget Actions section of the report.
Summary
Santa Monica’s Transportation Management Organization (TMO) advances the community’s mobility goals by promoting more sustainable and active transportation options like biking and walking while reducing pollution from traditional vehicles. The opening of the Expo (now renamed E) Line, coupled with updates to the City’s Transportation Demand Management Ordinance, served as the catalyst for establishing the TMO in 2016. Steer was selected to manage the City’s TMO after a competitive RFP process and, since that time, has successfully provided services for Santa Monica employers, residents, and visitors.
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Since the launch, the transportation landscape has seen dramatic shifts. The first major shift was the introduction of new options like shared use mobility, on-demand transit services, and corporate shuttles. The second and more recent shift has been widespread change in travel behaviors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic (increase in telework and decrease in transit, carpooling, biking, and walking) coupled with quickly rising gas prices and renewed demand for transit, carpooling, biking and electric bicycles and automobiles). In this rapidly changing landscape, it is necessary to have a public-facing outreach and engagement resource to increase awareness and assistance for those traveling to, from, and within Santa Monica. As a representative membership organization of employers, residents, and other stakeholders, the TMO works with the City to align efforts to achieve the City’s established trip reduction targets.
Discussion
Transportation Management Organizations (TMOs) are a popular mechanism for cities, businesses, residents, and local stakeholders such as bike and pedestrian groups to collaborate on developing, delivering, marketing, and promoting transportation solutions. Typically, TMOs are public/private partnerships that complement the regulatory and enforcement body (City) by providing outreach and customer service to employers, employees, and residents trying to shift away from single occupancy vehicles (SOVs) as the primary mode for commuting. The primary mission of most TMOs is to coordinate with local businesses, employees, and public agencies to enhance access and mobility for the stakeholders they represent.
In June 2015, the City’s Transportation Demand Management Ordinance was updated to include higher vehicle trip reduction standards for employers and developers. Achievement of trip reduction standards is evaluated by measuring the number of employees arriving at the worksite in relationship to the number of vehicles arriving at a worksite, referred to as Average Vehicle Ridership (AVR). AVR is captured through annual commute surveys as outlined in the TDM Ordinance.
Initially the citywide AVR target was 1.5, but with the introduction of the Expo (renamed E) line, the targets were increased and now range from 1.6 - 2.2, based on 3 of 9
proximity to transit. To help employers and developers attain the increased AVR targets, the City entered into a contract with Steer in January 2016 to develop and activate a citywide Transportation Management Organization (TMO).
Since 2016, Steer has successfully built relationships and worked with more than 150 Santa Monica employers, trained 80 Employee Transportation Coordinators, and distributed over 1,000 TAP cards. The TMO worked with employers to shift the way their employees commute to work from 63% of employees traveling in single occupancy vehicles to 59% of employees traveling in single occupancy vehicles by year three (FY18/19) and to 42% by the end of year four (FY19/20). Due to shelter at home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a substantial increase in teleworking at the end of FY19/20 which impacted commute patterns (the drop in drive alone trips from 59% to 42% was coupled with an increase in telework from 4% to 18%).
In addition to providing employee-focused services, the TMO developed and distributed more than 370 New Resident Welcome Packets as part of an outreach pilot program to influence and encourage more multi-modal transportation usage.
The packets were distributed to new residents of downtown apartments and included 4 of 9
a pre-loaded TAP card for regional public transportation and information about lastmile shared mobility options such as bikes and scooters.
While TMO engagement efforts such as educational programming, workplace events, trainings and technical assistance yielded a reduction in SOV trips throughout the City of Santa Monica, there has been a marked increase in drive alone trips by employers with staff who commuted in 2020. Table 1 shows the shifts in drive alone mode splits for several local employers who continued to work in person. As employers and employees establish return to work and hybrid work patterns and employees grapple with increasing gas prices, the TMO will be instrumental in facilitating a return to sustainable and affordable commute behaviors.
Table 1: 2016-2020 Large Employer Drive Alone Mode Split during the AM Commute Period
Employer 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Snyder-Diamond 75% 46% 44% 50% 57%
Pacific Park 38% 32% 30% 30% 48%
Providence Saint John's Hospital 64% 50% 55% 53% 68%
Whole Foods (2201 Wilshire) 44% 60% 39% 43% 80%
In May 2021, the City published a request for proposals for continued TMO services and received one proposal. While no other proposals were received, staff did hear from transportation consultants that they would not be submitting a proposal because Steer is currently providing TMO services for a significant number of jurisdictions in Southern California (see Attachment A for regional TMO services provided by Steer). With 90% of Santa Monica’s workforce living outside of the City boundaries, Steer is uniquely situated to leverage their regional perspective and create greater opportunities for policy and programmatic alignment to meet regional SOV reduction goals. 5 of 9
In November 2021, the City’s internal auditor, Moss Adams, presented their recommendations of the Mobility Division review, which suggested that staff “revise the contract with the TMO to define performance measures that align with City goals and better leverage the TMO Advisory Committee to achieve objectives.” In response to the audit recommendations, City Staff and the TMO are modifying and enhancing performance measures that will be reported on a quarterly and annual basis. Staff will also work with key stakeholders to refine the governance structure of the Advisory Committee, which was another Moss Adams recommendation.
Key Performance Metrics for the TMO will be determined at the beginning of each contract year with input from City staff and the Advisory Committee and will cover:
• Activities (quantification of the TMO employer program marketing and outreach efforts)
• Awareness (indicators that assess exposure and understanding of the City’s TDM Ordinance and TMO programming directed at promoting access to nonSOV transportation modes) • Participation (increased participation in the employer program and related events aimed to facilitate use of non-SOV transportation modes) • Impacts (measuring shifts from drive alone trips to non-SOV modes).
Members of the 26-member advisory committee serve permanent or two-year terms depending on the position. The committee structure includes six organizations with developer agreements (Employer and Residential); six employers (three large, two small, one hotel); three local business organizations; three resident/advocacy organizations; three mobility service providers including Big Blue Bus and LA Metro; four non-Big Blue Bus City staff representatives from the Mobility division, Economic Development, and Office of Sustainability and the Environment; and a Santa Monica Malibu Unified School district representative.
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With the reopening of the State’s economy, local and regional traffic volumes are reaching pre-pandemic levels. A robust regional transportation network coupled with education and outreach is essential to providing equitable and inclusive multi-modal transportation access for the City’s diverse workforce. As the local economy rebounds from the challenges brought on by the pandemic, employers’ ability to attract and retain staff is key to Santa Monica remaining a desirable place for people to live, work and play. Now, more than ever, the commute plays a significant role in attracting and retaining employees and the TMO will lead the City’s efforts to improve employee commutes and support sustainable travel by residents and visitors.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Description
1/26/2016
(Attachment B)
Council authorized the City Manager to execute a contract with Steer for the development and activation of a Santa Monica Transportation Management Organization.
Consultant Selection
The City undertook a competitive process, publishing a Request for Proposals (RFP).
In accordance with City Charter and Municipal Code provisions, staff published the Request for Proposals on the City’s Online Bidding Site.
Best and Only Bidder Steer
Submittals Received Selection Criteria
Steer $250,000 Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.190
Evaluation Criteria Experience & expertise: Multi-year partnership with Steer as part of relationship-building with City staff and local employers.
Comprehensive design of materials and marketing for programs and incentives to support multi-modal transportation options for daily commuting. Demonstrated value in regional synergies with different municipalities, close collaboration, and institutional knowledge of Santa Monica TDM programs. The proposals were evaluated based on the criteria in SMMC 2.24.190, including experience, references, work plan and timelines, project team, price, sample marketing materials, and flexibility and responsiveness of the proposal. 7 of 9
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RFP Data
Date Posted Posted On
Advertised In
(City Charter & SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
05/17/2021 City's Online
Bidding Site Santa Monica Daily Press 25 06/11/2021
Justification to Award
Steer is recommended as the best bidder because they demonstrated a clear understanding of the scope of services, met the City’s cost requirements, and leverage strong experience through providing related services in Southern California including Burbank, Glendale, Warner Center, and San Diego.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve funding from the Transportation Management Plan Special Revenue Source Fund to award a three-year agreement with Steer. These funds are collected from employers and developers subject to the City’s Transportation Demand Management Ordinance, and funding is available in account 10.365501 Transportation Management Program. A budget appropriation of $250,000 is required from account 10.365501 to account 10600002.550010. Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Agreement
FY 2021-22 Budget Request
Amount
FY 21/22 Budget
Department Account # Total Contract Amount
$250,000 10600002.550010 $750,000
Prepared By: Colleen Stoll, Transportation Demand program Manager Approved Forwarded to Council
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Attachments:
A. Steer Southern California TMO Scopes
B. Staff Report for 2016 Award of TMO Contract (Web Link) C. 2016 Fully Executed TMO Contract
D. 2018-2019 TMO Annual Report
E. GoSaMo TMO Annual Report Year 4
F. Steer Oaks Initiative
G. Written Comments
H. PowerPoint Presentation