City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: February 11, 2025
Agenda Item: 4.E
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Anuj Gupta, Director of Transportation, Department of Transportation, Finance & Administrative Services
Subject: Approval of Second Modification to Agreement with Swiftly, Ltd. for Real Time Bus Arrival Predictions and BBB Performance Analytics
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant environmental effects pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a second modification to agreement #11000 in the amount of $311,150, with Swiftly Corporation for a cloud-hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for customer-focused realtime schedule information and service performance metrics for staff for the Department of Transportation. This will result in a six-year agreement with a new total amount not to exceed $1,684,454, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
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. Most BBB riders depend on the realtime bus arrival predictions available on smartphone apps including Transit (BBB’s official trip planning and mobile ticketing app), using automated phone and text responses to queries about bus arrival times, and on BBB’s website and electronic signs at bus stops.
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On February 25, 2020, the City Council approved a contract award to Swiftly, Inc. for Software as a Service (SaaS) that generates the accurate real-time bus location and arrival information upon which customers and third parties depend. Swiftly also provides BBB staff in the Operations, Planning, and Customer Service Divisions access to realtime system performance data, allowing them to diagnose schedule and route running time issues to improve overall service quality and the customer experience. In 2022, the Council approved an update to the system with new Service Adjustments and Rider Alerts modules to help customers stay informed of any disruptions to bus service or stops, and an extension of agreement #11000 through June 30, 2025.
Staff will complete a competitive procurement for real-time predictions and system analytics in the coming year after implementation of the Computer-Aided Dispatch Automated Vehicle Locator (CAD-AVL), which provides location data for the real-time predictions, is complete. Since full implementation of the CAD-AVL system is currently on track to be completed late in FY2024-25, leaving little time to complete the real-time predictions and analytics procurement, staff is requesting an extension of Swiftly’s contract for one additional option year through June 30, 2026.
Discussion
Since 2020, BBB has used Swiftly software to generate real-time bus arrival predictions for customers to access using a variety of media including smartphone apps, phones, the BBB website, and electronic signs at bus stops. The Swiftly software also generates a performance dashboard which is used by staff in several BBB divisions to monitor system performance, analyze service issues, and assist customers with their trips. In 2022, a first modification to agreement #11000 included a system upgrade to add additional services and extended warranty maintenance services for all modules through June 30, 2025.
BBB is engaging in a competitive procurement process for real-time prediction and system analytics services in the coming year. However, since the procurement and implementation processes will take months to complete, staff recommends extending 3 of 4
the existing contract. Extending this contract will ensure BBB’s existing system remains supported for the duration of the procurement and implementation process. It is therefore recommended that the contract be extended for one additional option year through June 30, 2026. The cost of all modules covered by agreement #11000, including real-time predictions, service adjustments, and rider alerts for passengers as well as a dashboard for staff including GPS playback, on-time performance, headways, run-times, a speed map and live operations, for one year, is $311,150.
Environmental Review
The contract modification is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines. The contract modification 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 modification will provide the City with software and hardware for modules required to operate a public transportation system and provide information to customers to help them plan trips. Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that the proposed modification would not result in adverse physical impacts on the environment, and as such, is exempt from CEQA.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
02/25/2020 Award Contract with Swiftly, Inc. for Real-Time Bus Arrival Information and Business Analytics Software
03/08/2022 Approval of First Modification to Contract with Swiftly, Inc. for Software Service Solution for Department of Transportation
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the Big Blue Bus Fund to increase the amount of agreement #11000 with Swiftly, Ltd., for one additional year of maintenance support through June 30, 2026.
Agreement Modification Request
Agreement # Current
Authorized
Amount
FY 2024-25
Request
Amount
Future
Years
Request
Amount
Dept/CIP Account # Total Revised
Agreement
Amount
11000 $1,373,304 $311,150 $0 C6007470.689000 $1,684,454 4 of 4
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Barbara Andres, Customer Experience and Innovation Administrator
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Award Contract with Swiftly, Inc. for Real-Time Bus Arrival Information and Business Analytics Software (Web Link)
B. Approval of First Modification to Contract with Swiftly, Inc. for Software Service Solution for Department of Transportation (Web Link)
C. 2020-Swiftly Original Agreement 11000
D. 2022-Swiftly 1st Modification 11000
E. BBB_Oaks_[1.13.25]
F. BBB_CA Levine_[1.13.25]
G. Written Comments