City of Lawrence

Public Transit

 

TO:

Dave Corliss, City Manager

 

FROM:

Cliff Galante, Public Transit Administrator

 

CC:

Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager

Cynthia Boecker, Assistant City Manager

 

DATE:

June 18, 2008

 

RE:

RFP R08001 – Contracted Transportation Services for City of Lawrence and University of Kansas Status

 

Please place the following item on the City Commission agenda for consideration at their June 24, 2008 meeting:

 

Concur with staff recommendation regarding the selection of MV Transportation, Inc. as the vendor for contracted transportation services beginning January 1, 2009 and authorize staff to proceed with negotiations with MV Transportation, Inc. regarding potential options for transit services beginning January 1, 2009.

 

This was a joint RFP conducted with the University of Kansas who is also seeking a contracted transportation service provider to operate University transportation services when their existing contract with MV Transportation, Inc. expires at the end of this year.

 

As the Commission is aware, the City and the University of Kansas have recently signed a letter of intent to merge the transit systems effective July 1, 2009.  Additionally, there has been discussion about a potential sales tax election related to transit funding.  Staff is aware that negotiations with MV Transportation must take into consideration a potential sales tax election and the potential merger opportunity with KU on Wheels.  However, due to various timelines impacting the contractor’s ability to ensure no disruption of transit service for January 1, 2009, it is important that contract negotiations be initiated at this time.  Any negotiated contract options would come back before the City Commission for authorization.

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

 

RFP Process/Service Options:

The City is currently in the last year of a five-year transportation service contract with MV Transportation, Inc.  Per the direction of the City Commission, staff has worked closely for many months with the University of Kansas in drafting and issuing a joint request for proposal for contracted transportation services for both City and University transit operations beyond 2008 when existing contracts expire at the end of this year.  The new five-year contract period would begin on January 1, 2009 and expire on December 31, 2013.

 

The RFP was drafted in a manner to provide the City Commission with as many options as possible regarding what they felt was the most appropriate way to proceed with service in the future.  Specifically, contractors could submit a proposal for combined City and University services or individually if it was determined a combined scenario was not in the best interests of the City or University.  In addition, contractors were to provide pricing based on a variety of service levels – status quo, 30% reduction, and 50% reduction in City service.  This was done in recognition of the budget challenges the City is currently facing.  The RFP was issued in January 2008 and companies were solicited nationwide to submit a proposal.  Only two proposals were received in March, one by MV Transportation, Inc. (current transportation service provider for the City and University) and another by First Transit, Inc.

 

Staff Recommendation for Contracted Transportation Service Provider:

At this time, staff assigned with the task of evaluating proposals, unanimously recommend that MV Transportation, Inc. be selected as the vendor based on the RFP responses.  Staff believes that MV Transportation, Inc. best meets the City’s public transportation needs based on evaluation criteria outlined in RFP R08001 that included: quality of proposed personnel, experience, performance, references, quality of proposal, understanding of project approach, deliverables, cost, company resources and support, and proof of financial support and solvency.  These evaluation criteria were then ranked into Most Important, Very Important and Important categories and were weighted accordingly based on their importance.  Lowest price alone by a responsive and responsible proposer was not the determining factor for evaluating and awarding this procurement.   It so happens that MV Transportation, Inc. provided the lowest price.  However, that was not the determining factor, but one of many evaluated. 

 

The University of Kansas Procurement Negotiation Committee also tasked with evaluating proposals also unanimously recommend that MV Transportation, Inc. be awarded a contract to operate University transportation services and have submitted their recommendation to the University Provost for consideration.