A Partnership BetweenState Of Vermont Agency Of Transportation (VTrans)

andVermont Public Transportation Association (vpta.org)

ITS Massachusetts Annual Meeting, May 9, 2012(www.itsmass.org)

Liz Curry, Grants Manager Chittenden County Transportation Authority

Statewide Procurement of Paratransit Scheduling &

Dispatching Software

Champlain Islanders DevelopingEssential Resources

Green Mountain Transit Agency Rural CommunityTransportation

Special Services Transportation Agency

Addison County Transit Resources Stagecoach Transit

Services, Inc.

Advance Transit, Inc. Marble Valley Regional Transit District

Connecticut River Transit

Green Mountain Community Network

Deerfield Valley Transit Association

www.vpta.net

Overview

• Why the project needed

• How the project is structured

• Projects steps and timeline

• Challenges overcome and future challenges

Current Services

VT Transit Agencies provide some or all: deviated fixed route, fixed route & demand-response services

• Deliver services for seniors and people with disabilities through E&D program

• Deliver NEMT services• Broker services to third parties – taxis & volunteers;

deliver service directly if no other lower cost method

• Two systems have ADA service associated with fixed routes • CCTA & AT

• Other third party contracts

Current Practices

• All reservations, scheduling, dispatching done manually• Agencies use Access database tool developed & paid

for by VTrans

• Tracks client, trip & cost data for demand-response trips

• Generate reports for billing third parties and invoicing grants

• Two-way radios and cell phones used for driver communication

Call and Trip Volume Ranges

• Smaller agencies serve a single rural county or part of a county in Bennington, Windsor, Grand Isle & Orange Counties

• Mid-size agencies serve a more populated county or more than one county in Franklin, Washington, Windsor/Windham, Rutland and Addison

• Large agencies include urban Chittenden County and most rural Northeast Kingdom with three counties

Transit Agencies

Number of Calls

Number of Trips

4 25-110 40-150

5 110-250 100-250

2 300-1,000 500-880

Two-Phase Project

Phase OneIncludes all statewide activities required to develop detailed

specifications that define vendor scope of work and package a formal Request for Proposals Interview dispatching, scheduling, billing, reporting staff at 11 transit agencies Identify unique characteristics of each system Develop matrix of functions Assess capacity to transition from manual systems to software

Phase TwoWill involve the actual procurement that leads to a contract with a

vendor and the deployment of the software at each agency Assemble scope of work, federal contracting provisions, scoring criteria, submittal procedures &

release RFP Working committee reads proposals and interviews vendors Negotiate with finalists and select vendor Hold statewide kick-off meeting Begin implementation at large, medium, small system

Timeline of Key Events

• December 2010: VTrans approval to proceed

• March 2011 - Kick-off with TranSystems and VPTA membersOpportunity for each transit agency to become familiar with TranSystems, understand the benefits and impacts of software

• TranSystems presented prior rural procurement and technical assistance work: Iowa, Missouri, Tennesee, Pennsylvania• Characteristics of each procurement• Challenges• Lessons Learned• Steps in Vermont process• Benefits to and impacts on transit agencies• Software features

Timeline of Key Events

• April 2011 – Software features survey and site visits

• Survey ranked software functions each transit agency categorized into:

Must have Nice to haveNeed in next 5 years Will never use

• TranSystems visited each agency for one day on site to discuss survey responses

• Developed report with set of recommendations and software features matrix that formed the basis for the levels of software sophistication and specifications

Timeline of Key Events

• May 2011 – Vendor Expo and panel discussion

• Invited software eight vendors; six registered; five attended

• Featured product displays• Discussion panel moderated by TranSystems – each

vendor made presentation followed by question & answer session by transit agencies

• July 2011 – Needs Assessment Report summarized:

• Current practices, preferences for features, levels of sophistication

• Key challenges with product design, IT infrastructure, statewide procurement, and implementation

Timeline of Key Events

• October 2011 – Cost estimate and State of Good Repair application by VTrans

• TS able to develop cost estimate fairly quickly based on experience in other states and on details of features ranked by survey & site visits

• January 2012 – First draft specifications and notice of SGR award• Provided concrete details on how software modules would

automate all of the manual tasks VT Agencies do now• Critical decision to use hosted solution v. site-based software• Announcement of local match split between VTrans and Agency

of Human Services

Specifications and Requirements

•Consultant started with boilerplate specifications and level of detail followed from assessment of each transit agency’s paratransit functions related to software

•Levels of sophistication reflect calls per day, trip volume, and types of service provided (demand response; NEMT; ADA)

•Each level of sophistication distinguished by different modules (e.g. ADA eligibility application and database)

Specifications and Requirements

PARATRANSIT SCHEDULING AND DISPATCHING SOFTWARE MODULES

COMMON COMPONENTS: Existing database conversionClient registrationby transit agency & Medicaid eligibility link with Dept. VT Health AccessAgency resource management (drivers, volunteers, & vehicles)ReservationsSchedulingManual dispatching with system-generated manifestsBuilt-in GIS supportBilling, cost-allocation and reporting by programCustomer service – complaints, complimentsNTD reports and supporting detail dataManagement and operation reports

LEVEL 2: ADVANCED SCHEDULING AND DISPATCHING SOFTWAREAll of the above plus:Automated eligibility processing – automates eligibility application form & data (e.g. ADA); links data to client registrationScheduling – adds subscription trip tracking & allows same day trips to be addedAVL tracking [Optional] – vehicles equipped with GPS technology

LEVEL 3: FULLY AUTOMATED SCHEDULING AND DISPATCH SOFTWAREAll of the above plus:Mobile data terminal (MDT) interface [Optional] – manifests automatically transmittedWeb based components [Optional] – customer interface for client registration & reservations/cancellations

Timeline of Key Events

• March 2012 – Second draft of specifications• Modifications based on revised proposal for NEMT

services• Some agencies moved from Level 1 to Level 2, and

Level 2 to Level 3

• Final draft and RFP target issue date August 2012

Phase Two

• Looking at August RFP release and anticipate 4-6 month procurement process

• Contract by spring, 2013

• Initial deployment at beta site by end of fiscal year 2013

Summary of Project Components

•Clear goals based on mutual need for automation to increase efficiencies & productivity

•Collaborative approach to standardize systems and avoid duplication

•Consultant selection based on familiarity with statewide procurements and with technology required to meet rural transit system needs

•Review of literature enabled project to benefit from other statewide experiences and mature product

•Face-to-face discussion with vendors to ascertain similarities and differences

•VTrans application for State of Good Repair grant successfully allows for multi-year implementation

Challenges Ahead

• Deployment will require high level of engagement at each site

• Structure of contracting entity and product owners

• Project and cost management

• On-going training and adaptability