City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: August 27, 2024
Agenda Item: 5.C
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Anuj Gupta, Director of Transportation, Department of Transportation Subject: Award Contract to Token Transit, Inc. for Big Blue Bus Mobile Ticketing Services
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant effect pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines
2. Award RFP# 405 to Token Transit, Inc. for mobile ticketing services for the Department of Transportation.
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Token Transit, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $113,500 for one year, with 4 additional one-year renewal options in the amount of $559,961, on the same terms and conditions for a total amount not to exceed $673,461 over a five-year period, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval. 2 of 7
Summary
Big Blue Bus (BBB), a division of the Santa Monica Department of Transportation (DOT), operates 194 transit buses across 69 square miles of greater Los Angeles providing more than 800,000 rides each month. BBB is committed to providing an exceptional user experience onboard its bus beginning with its three fare collection systems. The majority (74% in FY 2022-23) of BBB customers board using the regional Transit Access Pass (TAP) ticketing system. Another 17% of customers pay with cash, and a small but consistent percentage of BBB customers (approximately 5%) board with Token Transit mobile tickets,1 which can be purchased in smartphone apps including the Token Transit app as well as the trip-planning apps Transit, Google Wallet, Moovit, and Bestmap, and others.
With the upcoming expiration of the Token Transit mobile ticketing contract, staff conducted a competitive procurement and published RFP #405 in April 2024. Upon evaluation of all proposals, staff now recommends a contract award to Token Transit for mobile ticketing services.
Discussion
Integration with third-party trip planning apps
More than 904,000 BBB mobile passes have been sold since 2017, representing more than $2 million in gross sales, and $305,474 in FY2023-24.2 Customers can buy their BBB tickets anywhere using their smartphones using not only the Token Transit app but also third-party trip planning apps. Many customers prefer the convenience of buying tickets in the app they are already using for trip planning such as the Transit app, Google Transit, Moovit, or Bestmap. As shown in Figure 1, in FY 2024-25, third-party apps sold nearly 64% of BBB’s mobile tickets, with more than 58% purchased through BBB’s official trip-planning app, Transit. Many public transportation users already have one or more trip-planning apps installed on their phones, making it simple for visitors traveling to our service areas to plan trips and/or purchase their tickets in their preferred app just as they do in their own city.
1 Big Blue Bus Performance Metrics Fiscal Year-End Report FY2022-23 2 Token Transit agency analytics dashboard
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Figure 1 – Mobile Ticketing Sales by Platform FY 2023-24 (source: Token dashboard) To ensure customers could keep buying BBB mobile tickets in their preferred trip planning apps, staff included integration with third party apps as a requirement in the RFP. Only Token Transit fully met this requirement.
Simplifying electronic validation of mobile tickets
To make mobile fare payment easier for customers, BBB installed Bluetooth validators in early 2021. However, 93% of customers who board with a Token Transit mobile ticket do not use the Bluetooth validators to scan their tickets.3Instead, most customers show their smartphones to the motor coach operator (MCO) to visually validate their ticket.
Based on MCO feedback, customers boarding the bus, especially out-of-town, infrequent, or first-time users, are confused that the bus has three validators (the SPX Genfare farebox which accepts cash fares, the TAP validator, and the Token Bluetooth validator). Other customers find it challenging to pull up the right screen on their smartphone and/or find it faster to just show the MCO their ticket. As a result, the validators are significantly underutilized.
3 Token Transit agency analytics dashboard
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Figure 2 – Bluetooth Mobile Ticketing Validator installed on BBB vehicles The most noteworthy concern about the Bluetooth validators is that due to technical limitations, they cannot read mobile tickets offered by third-party smartphone apps (only tickets generated by the Token Transit app), even though most of our tickets are sold in those apps. DOT staff learned from peer agencies that although the BBB Token Transit third-party app tickets can only be visually validated versus electronically, customers at other transit agencies offering Token Transit mobile ticketing have successfully integrated third-party app mobile tickets with their onboard validators, including the same model of SPX Genfare fareboxes used by BBB.
Using our fareboxes’ QR code scanners to read mobile tickets would eliminate the need for MCOs to visually validate fares, provide staff with more detailed transaction data for analysis, and reduce the number of validators on board from three to two, speeding up the boarding process and improving the customer experience. QR-coded tickets could also be used as single-use fares for social service agencies to give their clients, providing a solution for bulk ticket sales, which have decreased by 90% since metal tokens were discontinued. Social service agencies have told staff they want unique, disposable 1-ride tickets that do not expire, and paper QR-coded tickets would meet these requirements.
With the potential for improvements to the customer boarding and fare payment experience using QR-coded tickets, staff included the RFP requirement that the mobile ticketing app generate tickets with QR codes that can be integrated into third-party apps and read by our fareboxes. Token Transit was the only vendor that fully met that requirement.
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Vendor Selection
On April 18, 2024, staff published RFP #405 requesting proposals for a mobile ticketing fare collection system. Four proposals were submitted by the due date of May 9, 2024.
A team of staff evaluated the four proposals and recommended an award to Token Transit, Inc., the submitter who received the highest score based on the evaluation criteria that included quality of project management plan, project team, cost, quality of work, technical capabilities, adherence to requirements, references, qualifications, experience, financial health, and project demonstration.
Best Qualified
Firm
Token Transit, Inc.
Evaluation
Criteria
The project management plan showed the quality and thoroughness of the proposer’s project plan and timeline and evidence of their ability to meet project timelines, the ability, and experience in assembling a highly qualified team of sub-consultants, demonstration of a well-thought-out, cost-effective, and efficient project plan demonstrating an understanding of the project requirements, risks, stakeholders, milestones, and budget. Project team:
relevant experience of key personnel based on the resumes and experience narratives submitted reflecting the qualifications of the project team, effective communication, and understanding of the project goals, experience with similar projections, and the quality of responses to questions. Cost: Overall operation should encourage cost-effective work and services. Cost control, performance within budget allocations, prudent accounting practices, management, and clear communication with City staff. Quality of work: Work reflects the ability to meet the distinctive goals established for each component. Brief descriptions of previous project experiences were used to show how quality control was achieved with former clients. References from at least three previous North American clients receiving similar services to those proposed for this project. based on documented experience on similar projects and ensures that the distinctive goals established for each component are met. Qualifications, experience, commitment, and financial health. Project demonstration/interview.
Municipal
Code SMMC 2.24.190
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Recommendation
RFPs Received
Token Transit, Inc. SPX Genfare SC Soft Sonda USA
RFP Data
Posted On Posted On
Advertised In
(City Charter & SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
4/18/2024 City's Online
Bidding Site Santa Monica Daily Press 8 5/9/2024
Justification to Award
Staff interviewed 2 shortlisted firms. Based on these criteria and criteria in SMMC 2.24.190, staff recommends Token Transit, Inc. as the best-qualified firm to provide mobile ticketing services based on delivering the lowest cost proposal and their expertise as the mobile ticketing vendor to hundreds of transit agencies in North America, including the City of Santa Monica, and on positive results of reference checks.
Environmental Review
The contract for mobile ticketing services is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the CEQA Guidelines. The contract is covered by the commonsense exemption which states that CEQA does not apply “where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” The agreement will provide the City with a fare collection system. Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the Big Blue Bus Fund to award a contract with Token Transit for mobile ticketing services. 7 of 7
Agreement Request
FY 2024-25
Request
Amount
Future Years Amount CIP Account # Total Contract
Amount
$113,500 $559,961 DOT / C6007470.689000 $673,461
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Barbara Andres, Customer Experience and Innovation Administrator
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. OAKS_INITIATIVE_FORM
B. Levine Act Disclosure Form_Token Transit 2024