City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: January 24, 2023
Agenda Item: 5.I
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Edward F King, Director, Department of Transportation, Transit Planning & Performance
Subject: Award Contract for Big Blue Bus Comprehensive Operational Analysis Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Staff recommends the Council adopt a finding of statutory exemptions pursuant to Section 15252 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Section 21080.25 of the Public Resources Code.
2. Award RFP# 329 to Transportation Management & Design, Inc., a Californiabased company, to conduct a Comprehensive Operational Analysis for the Department of Transportation, Big Blue Bus.
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Transportation Management & Design, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $549,878 for two (2) years.
4. Authorize budget changes as outlined in the Financial Impacts & Budget Actions section of this report.
Summary
The City of Santa Monica’s Department of Transportation (DoT) invited proposals to perform a Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) to study and develop appropriate responses to significant market changes in recent years which have impacted Big Blue Bus (BBB) service, namely: 1) the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on public transit; 2) the evolution of land use and transportation options in the region, including bus ridership pattern changes as a result of the opening the Metro E Line (Expo); and 3) Big Blue Bus’s ongoing transition to a zero-emission fleet.
The COA will provide a review of existing conditions of Big Blue Bus’s service, create a series of potential ridership projections and expected service level needs, and formulate 2 of 7
a strategic plan to meet those needs. The COA will provide staff with recommendations for an appropriate service model and recommend operational changes as well as opportunities for technology and customer experience innovations that improve service quality and service reliability. After staff completed a comprehensive procurement process, Transportation Management & Design, Inc. (TMD) was selected as the best bidder.
Discussion
Since its most recent COA conducted in 2015, Big Blue Bus and the region have experienced significant changes that have impacted public transportation. The changes can be separated into three (3) categories:
1) Coronavirus pandemic and its impacts
Big Blue Bus has been significantly impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Bus ridership patterns have been severely disrupted, and, as the pandemic wanes, ridership is not returning to pre-pandemic levels. The profile of when and where transit customers travel continues to evolve as many transit customers no longer commute to work every day due to work-from-home opportunities and fewer customers are attending college courses in person because of remote instruction opportunities.
The pandemic has also ushered in a national shortage of transit workers, which has been felt acutely in the recruitment of motor coach operators, bus maintenance mechanics, and administrative support positions. This labor shortage has greatly inhibited Big Blue Bus’s ability to restore service levels to pre-pandemic levels. 2) Evolution of land use and transportation options
Both land use and transportation options in the Big Blue Bus service area are evolving.
Land use has made impactful changes in the Big Blue Bus service area. The City of Inglewood now has a major stadium and other significant development just two miles from the end of Route 14 (SoFi Stadium). In addition, there is robust development in downtown Culver City at the terminus of Route 17. The City of Los Angeles has 3 of 7
revamped its zoning ordinance to give density bonuses near frequent transit, which has resulted in greater density on the corridors of Routes 1, 3, 7, and Rapid 12. Downtown Santa Monica continues to add thousands of square feet of new residential space every year. To accommodate this growth, more resources are being dedicated to facilitating walking, biking, ridesharing, and transit to optimize the efficiency of the transportation network. As a result, the service area is being remade to make transit a more attractive transportation option.
The Metro E Line extension to Santa Monica in 2016 brought major changes to Big Blue Bus ridership patterns. Further expansion is coming to the rail network in the Big Blue Bus service area with the extension of the Metro D Line (Purple) subway, the opening of the Metro K Line (Crenshaw), the LAX Airport Metro Connector Station and People Mover, and the through-routing of the Metro E Line to East LA via the Regional Connector. The combined effect is that the rail network that connects Big Blue Bus to many of its passengers is undergoing profound change. Various impacts are anticipated, but some promise to cause significant shifts in ridership. The Westwood/UCLA Station on the D Line, which will be served by six Big Blue Bus routes, is projected by Metro to be the busiest rail station on Metro’s entire network of ninetythree stations. Additionally, since the last COA, rapidly evolving transportation options including Transportation Network Companies such as Uber and Lyft and micromobility services (shared bikes and scooters) have changed people’s expectations of transportation and how they get around.
Changes to bus infrastructure are also happening as the Cities of Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and Culver City, as well as Caltrans, are warming to the idea of more bus rapid transit (BRT) lanes. These jurisdictions have all implemented BRT lanes since Big Blue Bus’s last COA in 2015, or are currently working on proposed lanes that will be added over the next five years.
3) Transition to a zero-emission fleet
The third significant change is DOT’s commitment to transforming the Big Blue Bus fleet to zero emissions by 2030. Currently, zero-emission battery electric buses (BEBs) 4 of 7
constitute ten percent of the in-service fleet. As of the current technology, battery electric buses provide only half the range of compressed natural gas (CNG) buses (approximately 120-140 miles per charge versus 280 miles). Charging battery electric buses takes much longer than CNG fueling. Therefore, maintaining current service levels without adding more buses could require an overhaul of bus scheduling that considers the shorter range, as well as the longer charging time, for the new battery electric bus fleet.
Comprehensive Operational Analysis
Recognizing the dynamic nature of the changes taking place, DOT’s COA will iteratively adapt Big Blue Bus’s operations to the new market conditions noted above. As part of this process, DOT will proactively engage with its customers, constituents, stakeholders, and partner agencies to provide robust and productive service that meets the needs of the dynamic marketplace as well as new opportunities and challenges. The COA is key to effectively responding to these opportunities and challenges.
The goals of the COA are as follows:
A. Chart a roadmap for service restoration and a service model that matches the new post-pandemic conditions.
B. Create a service design that responds appropriately to land use and transportation infrastructure changes in the Big Blue Bus service area.
C. Reschedule existing service to enable the full fleet implementation of battery electric buses, and establish scheduling criteria that ensure stability and operability with the fleet’s technology.
D. Create a service plan that:
o Seeks to maximize ridership through an optimized and efficient allocation of resources
o Strives to stimulate ridership at new rail stations, in areas of new development, and at new key destinations that have a high propensity for transit use, through the introduction of new services
o Is budget neutral
E. Identify technologies (e.g. transit signal priority, autonomous vehicles, etc.) and 5 of 7
customer experience innovations (e.g. cashless onboard fare systems, alternative service models, etc.) that can optimize travel time and attract ridership.
F. Evaluate the application of new technologies to enhance the customer experience in the City, and to provide efficient and economic connectivity between Downtown Santa Monica and other City neighborhoods.
Vendor Selection
Bidder Recommendation
Best Qualified
Person/Firm
Transportation Management & Design, Inc. (TMD)
Evaluation Criteria Cost; quality of work/technical capabilities; value add/breadth of service; experience; project team; work plans/timelines; references; any other factor that will further the intent set forth in Section 608 of the City Charter. The City shall have absolute discretion in determining the applicability and weight of the criteria listed above.
The City is not required to select the bid with the lowest price.
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.190
RFP Data
Date
Posted Posted On
Advertise In
(City Charter & SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
09/02/2022 City's Online
Bidding Site
Santa Monica Daily Press
TransitTalent
Passenger Transport
38 10/07/2022
Best Bidder Justification
On September 2, 2022, DOT staff issued a request for proposal (RFP) for a Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) and received three (3) responsive proposals. An evaluation committee comprised of staff from the DOT’s Planning and Performance, Transit Operations, and Transit Finance and Grants Divisions reviewed all proposals. All three firms were invited to present their proposals to the evaluation committee. Based on the evaluation criteria in the RFP, Transportation Management & Design, Inc. (TMD) was determined to be the best-qualified person or firm. Staff recommends TMD as the best-qualified person or firm based on the evaluation criteria outlined in RFP#329 and criteria in SMMC 2.24.190. TMD’s proposal and work plan demonstrated their deep knowledge and prior experience in performing COAs for transit agencies nationwide. TMD recently completed Metro’s NextGen Bus Study. TMD previously partnered with DOT to provide Line by Line Analysis (2010- 2011), Technical Analysis (2012), and Title VI support (2013) for Big Blue Bus. TMD has subcontracted RFPs Received
Jarrett Walker + Associates Nelson\Nygaard Consulting
Associates, Inc
Transportation Management
and Design
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with reputable organizations to ensure that all the requirements of the scope of work are met to a high standard. These organizations include Arellano Associates (AA), Fehr and Peers, and National Data & Surveying Services (NDS).
Environmental Review
The COA is statutorily exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15262, which exempts feasibility or planning studies for possible future actions which the agency, board, or commission has not approved, adopted, or funded. The COA would serve as a planning guide for future Big Blue Bus operations, and therefore, is exempt pursuant to Section 15252. In addition, any implementation actions resulting from the COA would be statutorily exempt from CEQA pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21080.25, which exempts transit prioritization projects, projects for the institution or increase of new bus rapid transit, bus, or light rail service, and projects that improve customer information and wayfinding for transit riders.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to appropriate funding and approve the use of available funding from the Big Blue Bus fund to award a contract with TMD to perform a Comprehensive Operational Analysis.
FY 2022-23 CIP Budget Changes
Funds to be Appropriated
Account Number Amount
C6008740.689000 $549,878
Contract/Agreement/Purchase Order Request
FY2022-23
Request Amount Department/CIP Account # Total Contract Amount $549,878 C6008740.689000 $549,878
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval. 7 of 7
Prepared By: Alfredo Torales, Strategic Transit Planner Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Oaks Initiative Form - TMD