Flexible Transit Service Provision

Transcription

1 DATE: November 14, 2016 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION #17-02 SUBJECT: Flexible Transit Service Provision Responses DUE DATE: December 20, 2016 January 13, 2016 TIME: SUBMIT TO: 12:00 Noon EST Chuck Steigerwald Director of Strategic Planning PRTC Potomac Mills Road Woodbridge, VA Fax: (703) Write Flexible Transit Service Provision on the subject line of any communications. Pre-Response Conference DATE: November 29, 2016 TIME: Location: Noon EST PRTC Potomac Mills Road Woodbridge, VA Teleconference (641) ; Participant Access Code: #

2 CONTENTS Section I Section II Section III Section IV Introduction Project Concept Response Requirements Agency Contact Information RFI # Page - 2 Flexible Transit Service Provision

3 SECTION I INTRODUCTION I.1 Purpose of the Request The Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC) provides transit and transportation demand management (TDM) services for Prince William County and the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, Virginia in suburban Washington, DC. PRTC is investigating the potential of a technology-enabled flexible transit service concept for areas within Prince William County that are not currently served by transit. PRTC seeks input from interested parties that would help shape service concept and design. Based on recent trends in transportation PRTC believes that it is possible to fill existing gaps in transit service with a flexible and efficient model styled after some technology-enabled transit services currently offered in larger Metropolitan areas. The agency is interested in exploring whether this type of service is feasible in a suburban setting. PRTC believes that the most constructive and beneficial arrangement would be one that allows each service provider to act in a way that is consistent with their established business practices. Therefore, the base service concept calls for a cooperative structure that seeks to improve the value for travelers with a minimal burden on service providers. The agency s vision of its role in the provision of this service is one of facilitator assisting with the development of the service from concept to implementation, communication between the service provider and stakeholders, and any necessary permissions from local government entities. The agency is flexible on this point and may be in a position to directly assist with or perform operational tasks and/or provide other necessary material support. Responses should indicate an understanding of the base service concept as expressed below, but responders are free to suggest modifications to this concept that will provided greater benefit for users. I.2 Background Information PRTC s family of transit services consist of OmniLink local demand-response service, Cross County Connector operating between eastern and western Prince William County, Metro Direct feeders to nearby Metrorail stations, and OmniRide commuter bus service between Prince William County and the core employment areas in and around Washington, DC. PRTC also provides carpool/vanpool matching (OmniMatch) and employer outreach service (Omni SmartCommute). PRTC management has determined that the existence of certain service gaps can best be filled through the provision of a technology-enabled flexible transit service targeting certain activity centers, connecting lower density residential areas with employment sites and/or transit hubs. Historically Prince William County has primarily been a bedroom community for the Washington, DC core employment area. Given the proximity of federal government institutions, military facilities, and associated contractors a large portion of county residents tend to be highly educated with relatively high household incomes. Over the past several decades the county has sought to encourage large employers to locate in the county to provide employment RFI # Page - 3 Flexible Transit Service Provision

4 opportunities for residents that offer some level of parity with employment in the core areas. This has largely taken the form of campus-style employment developments in a suburban environment with abundant free parking, not sited on existing transit routes and ill-suited for traditional transit service. PRTC management believes that, despite these factors, some level of transit service is both warranted and desired by community stakeholders (employees, employers, political and business leaders). We also believe that the most efficient way to provide this service is through a technology-enabled flexible transit service. SECTION II PROJECT CONCEPT II.1 Service Concept Believing that the most likely opportunity for success would be a service geared towards employers, PRTC has targeted the Innovation Business Park in Prince William County. This development and the area surrounding it is home to a number of large employers including Micron, Lockheed-Martin and the FBI s Northern Virginia Field Office. In addition the Prince William campus of George Mason University is located there and may provide some demand for off-peak and non-commute trips. The University currently operates its own inter-campus shuttle, but has expressed a willingness to participate in a development-wide transit service. Several factors have contributed to the business park being difficult for traditional transit to serve. Despite being located near an Interstate Highway and major surface roads the development is relatively isolated from the community with few nearby services and is a campus-style development with abundant free parking that encourages single occupancy vehicle use. Until relatively recently residential development near Innovation lacked appreciable density and the residential locations of employees tended to be widely dispersed throughout the region. PRTC believes that sufficient demand does exist for a smaller-scale, flexible service to successfully operate in this area and has begun discussions with employers in the business park on the feasibility and desirability of such a service. While the agency considers this the most promising location for service we are certainly open to the consideration of other sites based on responder suggestion. As a base concept, the service would consist of one or more routes connecting residential areas with the business park (or connecting two or more other activity centers that could provide sufficient demand). Service is assumed to be confined to peak travel hours, but off peak service to accommodate lunch time trips and shift work may be feasible if it is determined that sufficient demand exists. Trip schedules and routing should be flexible and responsive to actual demand. Users should be able to schedule and pay for trips using a commonly available platform and service vehicles should feature on-board technology to allow for trip deletions and additions along with routing information. Ideally, real-time traffic information would be available to vehicle operators and real-time arrival information available to users. In-vehicle technology should allow for dispatching functions performed either automatically or through a dispatching center as well as the recordation and reporting of such data as vehicle use, mileage, passenger counts, boarding and alighting locations, and schedule adherence/travel times. RFI # Page - 4 Flexible Transit Service Provision

5 Service providers would provide the underlying technology for trip scheduling, payment, and optimal routing. Trip times and routing would be optimized for efficiency while meeting the other travel needs of riders. Service would be confined to designated areas or specific activity centers, such as employment sites. These areas or activity centers would be pre-determined based on demand analysis and/or requests from stakeholders. Actual service provision could be through a third party or by operators directly employed by the responder with vehicles and equipment provided by the responder. Responses should include a list of trip-making policies and requirements such as, cancellation and no-show penalties, advance scheduling policies and time restrictions on scheduling and/or service availability. Base Service Concept Trips connect residential areas with employment or other activity centers Trips begin or end at a negotiated or arranged point Scheduled trip times and routing maximize convenience for riders and service efficiency Trip scheduling and payment are available through commonly available means Trips are scheduled, performed, and paid for according to responder s established business practices and policies In concept, eventually this service could be expanded to connect customers to area park-andride lots, Virginia Railway Express stations, and/or other concentrated activity centers, thus evolving into a broader mobility strategy. II.2 Technical Concept It is assumed that respondents have previously developed applications that would meet or exceed any requirements for this project. Responders should be able to provide applications for system users (customers) and service operators (drivers). Solutions should either perform dispatching functions automatically or allow for and assist with the manual dispatching of vehicles. Applications should allow for the capture and reporting of certain vehicle and trip related data as identified in section II.4. Any necessary modifications to existing applications should be noted in the response. Scheduling and payment should be through commonly available means such as a smartphone app. Applications should be within industry standards and compliant with all regulation. User interfaces should be intuitive and easily navigated with clear user options. Responses should describe the technology used for trip scheduling, requirements for users, technology used by drivers, user payment options and payment process. Descriptions should include and identify currently used technologies and followed practices and suggested modifications, if any, to meet conceptual needs. II.3 Promotion RFI # Page - 5 Flexible Transit Service Provision

6 This concept considers promotion as a key to project success. Promotion is assumed to be a shared responsibility consisting of both joint and organizational efforts. For the initial implementation of service PRTC envisions that targeted promotion to employees at employer sites would prove the most effective model this model has been successfully adopted by vanpool providers. PRTC s employer outreach program Omni SmartCommute - would serve as a natural fit for promotion and for facilitating relationships between the service provider and employers. Responders should describe currently available promotional tools and practices and describe current ability for localized promotion. Responses should also suggest any potential need for user and/or other incentives based on previous experience and best practices. Incentive descriptions should include suggestions for amounts and process for payout. II.4 Data Availability While the concept assumes that there would be no need for potential service providers to have access to PRTC service-related data in any significant or on-going manner, it is understood that for planning purposes some amount of basic data would be beneficial to responders. We assume that this data is largely demographic and economic. While much of this data is publicly available, PRTC will work with responders to meet data needs when necessary and to the extent possible. Assuming that employers agree, employee survey data collected through the Omni SmartCommute program could be made available for planning purposes. During the period of operation and for purposes of the project, PRTC would require that certain trip-related data be made available by the provider on an on-going basis. This data would include: total number of scheduled daily and monthly trips total number of daily and monthly trips denied total number of daily and monthly trips provided successfully (actual service) total number of daily and monthly cancelled trips total number of daily and monthly no-shows total number of daily and monthly unique users daily and monthly schedule of successfully performed trips with location and times of pick-up and drop-off daily and monthly calculations of trip durations and mileage number of vehicles used in provision of actual service Responses should clearly indicate which of the data items could be provided assuming the use of the responder s current technology, whether current policy prohibits sharing of this data, and whether this data is currently provided to any third parties. Responses should also describe any system modifications necessary to provide the requested data and indicate the potential for any necessary policy change regarding data sharing. RFI # Page - 6 Flexible Transit Service Provision

7 SECTION III RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS Responses should be provided by mail, fax, or to PRTC by December 20th, Responders are free to use their institutional standard formatting, but should follow the structure of the RFI beginning with an introduction and background then addressing each section/subsection in turn. Pages should be numbered. As stated above, responses will assist PRTC in assessing the potential for project implementation and may or may not result in the issuance of an RFP. Descriptions of current technologies, policies and practices along with necessary or suggested modifications are critical to determining the feasibility of the project concept. Responses should address these key items ordered and identified by section as listed in the RFI: Introduction and Background o Brief description of the responding organization o Type of services provided o Geographic areas covered o Description of any existing or potential agreements or relationships with other public transit agencies o Amount or extent of services provided in the PRTC service area, if any Project Concept o Service Concept Understanding of base concept Suitability of current operations to base concept Necessary modifications of current operations to meet base concept Suggested changes/enhancements to base concept List and description of trip-making policies and requirements o Technical Concept Description of current trip scheduling and trip making technology Description of payment process and options Description of user requirements Suggested changes/enhancements to base concept o Promotion Description of relevant promotional tools and practices Suitability to adapt tools and practices for localized promotion Description of recent promotional efforts with other transit agencies, if any Suggested incentives for users and/or drivers noting recent relevant experience o Data Availability Data sharing policy if applicable Description of any data sharing agreements with other transit agencies Detailed response on the current ability to provide the data as listed in subsection II.4 RFI # Page - 7 Flexible Transit Service Provision

8 Necessary modifications in technology or policy to provide the data as listed in subsection II.4 Summation o Potential feasibility of project Potential benefits General level of effort required to meet base concept General level of effort required to meet base concept with suggested modifications o General Comments RFI # Page - 8 Flexible Transit Service Provision

9 SECTION III Agency Contact Information Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission Potomac Mills Road Woodbridge, VA (703) Fax: (703) Questions regarding the content of this Request for Information should be direct to: Chuck Steigerwald Director of Strategic Planning (703) RFI # Page - 9 Flexible Transit Service Provision