1. PARA TRANSPO SERVICE CONTRACTS
AND TAXI SCRIPT PILOT PROJECT CONTRATS DE SERVICE PARA
TRANSPO ET PROJET PILOTE DE PARTICIPATION DES TAXIS |
commITTEE
RECOMMENDATIONS as amended
That Council approve:
1.
The
service delivery concepts and procurement methodology detailed in this report,
noting that the bid solicitation document will be released for Para Transpo
service in June 2006;
2.
That
the Deputy City Manager, Public Works and Services be delegated authority to
approve a contract award based on the process identified in this report for
service provision beyond June 2007; and,
3.
That a
report will be brought to Committee and Council in the fourth quarter 2006
which deals with the results of this procurement process, together with further
investigation into the possible implementation details of a Taxi Script
program.
4. That staff report to Transportation
Committee on the process to be used to accommodate and evaluate an ‘in-house’
bid to provide Para Transpo service
recommandations
modifiÉes du COMITÉ
1.
Les concepts de prestation de service et la
méthode d'acquisition s'y rattachant qui sont décrits dans le présent rapport,
en prenant note du fait que le document d'appel d'offres pour le service de
Para Transpo sera publié en juin 2006;
2.
Que
le directeur municipal adjoint, Travaux et Services publics, reçoive une
délégation de pouvoirs l'habilitant à approuver un contrat à adjuger suivant le
processus établi dans le présent rapport pour la prestation de service après
juin 2007;
3.
Qu'un rapport portant sur les
résultats de ce processus d'acquisition, ainsi que d'une étude plus poussée des
éventuelles modalités d'application d'un programme de participation des taxis,
soit présenté au Comité et au Conseil au cours du quatrième trimestre de 2006.
4. Que le personnel soumette un rapport au Comité des
transports sur la façon de procéder pour l’acceptation et l’évaluation d’une
offre « interne » relativement à la prestation du service Para
Transpo.
Documentation
1.
Acting
Deputy City Manager, Public Works and Services report
dated 8 May 2006 (ACS2006-PWS-TRN-0006).
2.
Extract of Minutes, 17 May
2006.
Report to/Rapport au:
Transportation Committee/Comité
des transports
and
Council/et au Conseil
8 May
2006/le 8 mai 2006
Submitted by/Soumis par: R.G. Hewitt
Acting Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint
intérimaire,
Public Works and Services/Services et Travaux publics
Contact/Personne-ressource: A.
Carle, Director/Directeur,
Transit Services/Service du transport en commun
842-3636 ext. 2271,
alaine.carle@ottawa.ca
City Wide |
Ref N°: ACS2006-PWS-TRN-0006 |
SUBJECT: PARA
TRANSPO SERVICE CONTRACTS AND TAXI SCRIPT PILOT PROJECT
OBJET: CONTRATS
DE SERVICE PARA TRANSPO ET PROJET PILOTE DE PARTICIPATION DES TAXIS
REPORT
RECOMMENDATIONS
1.
That
the Transportation Committee approve and recommend to Council the service
delivery concepts and procurement methodology detailed in this report, noting
that the bid solicitation document will be released for Para Transpo service in
June 2006;
2.
That
the Deputy City Manager, Public Works and Services be delegated authority to
approve a contract award based on the process identified in this report for
service provision beyond June 2007; and,
3.
That a
report will be brought to Committee and Council in the fourth quarter 2006
which deals with the results of this procurement process, together with further
investigation into the possible implementation details of a Taxi Script
program.
RECOMMANDATIONS
DU RAPPORT
1.
Que le Comité des transports approuve et
recommande au Conseil d'approuver les concepts de prestation de service et la
méthode d'acquisition s'y rattachant qui sont décrits dans le présent rapport,
en prenant note du fait que le document d'appel d'offres pour le service de
Para Transpo sera publié en juin 2006;
2.
Que
le directeur municipal adjoint, Travaux et Services publics, reçoive une
délégation de pouvoirs l'habilitant à approuver un contrat à adjuger suivant le
processus établi dans le présent rapport pour la prestation de service après
juin 2007;
3.
Qu'un rapport portant sur les
résultats de ce processus d'acquisition, ainsi que d'une étude plus poussée des
éventuelles modalités d'application d'un programme de participation des taxis,
soit présenté au Comité et au Conseil au cours du quatrième trimestre de 2006.
BACKGROUND
Existing Para Transpo Service
Para Transpo is the City of
Ottawa’s door-to-door transportation service for persons who are unable to use
conventional transit services. The hours
of service, geographic areas served and fare structure are similar to our
conventional transit system. The total
budget established for the delivery of the service in 2006 is $22,250,000. Annual revenues of $1,571,000 will offset
some of these costs. In 2006, the
service will carry approximately 690,000 customer trips.
There are approximately 12,000
persons with disabilities registered with Para Transpo. Approximately 30 percent of registrants use
either a wheelchair or scooter and therefore require a wheelchair accessible
vehicle. The remaining 70 percent of
registrants are ambulatory and can usually travel in either a passenger car or
a wheelchair accessible vehicle.
The existing Para Transpo
service is delivered entirely through contracted services. Client eligibility and certification,
customer reservations, scheduling and dispatch to the hourly rate contracts,
and contract management are provided in-house by Transit Services staff.
Contracted Services
The on-street portion of the
service as well as the taxi dispatch functions are delivered by private sector
operators under contract with the City.
Para Transpo is currently delivered
through four distinct contracts: one using wheelchair-accessible vans, one
using non-accessible sedans, one using wheelchair-accessible taxis and one
using non-accessible taxis.
The two taxi contracts, which are
delivered by West-Way Taxi and Coventry Connections, represent approximately 10
percent of the overall service. These
contracts are paid based on the taximeter rate plus a management fee and will
expire in March 2009.
The wheelchair-accessible van and the
non-accessible sedan contracts, which are delivered by FirstBus Canada,
represent about 90 percent of the overall service. These contracts are paid based on the hours
of service delivered and are scheduled to expire in June 2007.
Under the existing service delivery
model, these four services are managed as follows:
·
Wheelchair
Accessible Van Service (FirstBus Canada)
This contract, operated with wheelchair-accessible vans, is the core
Para Transpo service operating seven days a week for the full length of OC
Transpo’s service day. It integrates
non-ambulatory and ambulatory customers in order to maximize van capacity per
trip. In 2005, 92 wheelchair-accessible
vans provided registered Para Transpo customers with 477,000 trips. This service is expected to deliver 70
percent of the Para Transpo trips in 2006 (483,000 trips).
·
Non-Accessible
Sedan Service (FirstBus Canada)
Non-accessible sedans provide supplementary
service during weekdays between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. This contract is for the delivery of service
using dedicated four-door sedans, using a fleet of 37 vehicles. This service is expected to deliver
approximately 20 percent of the Para Transpo trips in 2006 (137,000 trips).
· Non-Accessible Taxi Service
(West-Way Taxi)
Non-accessible taxis also provide supplementary
service during weekdays between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. This contract delivers service using
approximately 25 non-accessible cabs.
This service is expected to deliver between seven percent and eight
percent of the Para Transpo trips in 2006 (50,000 trips).
· Wheelchair-Accessible Taxi
Service (Coventry Connections)
Wheelchair-accessible taxis
also provide
supplementary service during weekdays between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. This contract delivers service using
approximately five wheelchair-accessible cabs.
This service is used by both ambulatory customers as well as customers
using wheelchairs and is expected to deliver between two percent and three
percent of the Para Transpo trips in 2006 (20,000 trips).
In-house Services
Client Eligibility and Certification
To be able to use Para Transpo services, a person
must first register for the service. Transit Services staff administers this
registration process. Detailed
application forms must be completed and signed by the applicant and their
health care professional and then forwarded to Transit Services for their
review.
Fully completed application forms are generally processed
within one week of the date received by Transit Services staff. A point system is used to assist staff in
determining whether an applicant is eligible for service and once an applicant
is determined to be eligible for service, a detailed information package
including their Para Transpo registration number is sent to the newly
registered customer. Once a customer has
been registered for service they can then contact Para Transpo to request
transportation.
Transit staff register, on average, 3,500 new
clients each year. However, the total
number of active clients has not been increasing significantly over the last
few years, as there are a similar number of clients who stop using the service.
Of the 3,500 annual registrations, 60 percent are
permanent registrations. Approximately
80 percent of these permanent customers are seniors and 32 percent either a
wheelchair or scooter.
The remaining 40 percent of the registrations are
temporary clients who have been registered for one year or less. Of these customers, approximately 58 percent
are seniors and 18 percent use either a wheelchair or scooter.
Reservations
Under the existing model, 55 percent of Para Transpo
trips delivered occur on a regular weekly basis and are therefore booked as
subscription bookings. Once these
bookings are established, the customers do not need to call Para Transpo again
unless they wish to make changes to their reservations.
For the remainder of the bookings (45 percent),
customers are required to schedule their trips one day in advance, although
same day bookings are accommodated when cancellations occur.
Para Transpo service hours/levels and ridership have
been relatively unchanged between 1995 and 2005. This compares to an eight percent increase in
service hours on the conventional transit system. Attachment 1 shows Para Transpo ridership by
registered passengers over the past ten years.
As a result of the
above, over the last ten years four to six percent of Para Transpo trip
requests each year could not be accommodated. This amounted to 38,000 trips in
2005 and does not include the latent demand for service that cannot easily be
measured. This is the case in spite of
the fact that Ottawa transported more passengers per capita than most other
large Cities in Canada. In 2004, out of
the eighteen largest Canadian specialized transit systems, Ottawa ranked
third. Only Hamilton (1.21
passengers/capita) and Victoria (1.10 passengers/capita) transported more
passengers per capita than Ottawa (1.01 passengers/capita). The Canadian average in 2004 was .67
passengers per capita.
Para Transpo must
find ways of improving the system’s capacity to meet unmet, latent and growing
demand while delivering service that meets the customer needs at a fair and
equitable price.
The solution to the problem of trip refusals lies in
a combination of attracting some trips to regular transit, finding the most
cost-effective way to provide service to those who need to use Para Transpo and
providing an annual budget that will meet the transportation needs of those who
require Para Transpo service.
Some Para Transpo customers are now using regular
transit for at least some of their transportation needs. While the service delivery model used by Para
Transpo has limited cost increases over the years, the resources available to
Para Transpo over the last ten years has been insufficient to meet the demands
of its customers.
Scheduling
A sophisticated computer software scheduling system is used to optimize
the use of available resources. This
system ensures the most cost-effective distribution of customer trips amongst
the three existing contractors, who operate four different types of vehicles
under four distinct contracts. This is a
complex scheduling process performed by Transit Services staff.
Transit
Services staff accepts all trip requests from eligible Para Transpo customers,
selects the trips that can be effectively put together in a shared ride
schedule and then sends these van and sedan schedules to FirstBus so that their
drivers can then deliver the service.
Experience has shown that this approach allows the maximum number of
riders to be transported in the most cost-effective manner.
Trips
that cannot be effectively scheduled to hourly rate vans and sedans in a shared
ride mode are then forwarded to the taxi companies where the majority of the
trips are dispatched in a non-shared ride mode.
Dispatch
Prior to the day of service, Para Transpo
customers will cancel on average 250 previously reserved trips for that day. After
the daily schedules (3000+ trips) have been produced and forwarded to the
appropriate contractors, Transit staff will generally dispatch 650 service
adjustments each day through the radio communication system. Service adjustments will include same-day
customer trip cancellations as well as same-day service requests and will often
require the transfer of trips from one vehicle to another.
DISCUSSION
The Role of Taxis in Service Delivery
Experience
in Ottawa has shown that, although on a per trip basis the non-accessible taxi
service has generally been more expensive than the hourly rate sedan service,
non-accessible taxis can be an effective way of covering trips that cannot be
effectively scheduled to hourly rate vehicles in a shared ride mode.
Past
experience has also shown that the transportation of customers using
wheelchairs is generally more costly than the transportation of ambulatory
clients because of the need for more costly wheelchair accessible vans.
However,
it is expected that with the introduction of wheelchair-accessible cabs into
the Para Transpo service, there will likely be opportunities to reduce the
overall cost of transporting persons using a wheelchair.
The City is also investigating the feasibility of introducing a “Taxi
Script” pilot-project, which would provide Para Transpo customers with the
option of purchasing taxi-chits from the City at reduced prices. These chits could then be used to purchase
trips directly from participating taxi companies. This type of program is currently operating
in Hamilton, Ontario where their specialized transit customers pay 60 percent
of the taxi-metre rate. This type of
program would provide some Para Transpo customers with an additional option for
at least some of their transportation needs and would also likely be of benefit
to the taxpayer and the Taxi industry.
A
“Taxi Script” pilot project will be developed over the summer and brought back
to Committee in late 2006, after the Para Transpo contract awards are approved
by staff.
Van and Sedan Service
It
is expected that a combination of wheelchair accessible vans,
wheelchair-accessible cabs, as well as non-accessible cabs and/or sedans is
likely the most cost-effective way of delivering effective Para Transpo service.
The
daily decisions on what contractor and vehicle type receives what customer
trips do, to a large extent, determine how effective the service will be.
Those
decisions must be made with the customer and the taxpayer in mind and are
therefore made by City staff. To be able to deliver the above service in a cost-effective manner,
Transit Service staff must operate the Para Transpo reservations centre,
scheduling and dispatch functions, and manage the overall delivery of the
contracted service. Not only is this the
most effective method of delivering Para Transpo service, it is also in line
with the current ATU 1760 agreement with the City which contains a no new
contracting out clause.
Enhancements
to the Para Transpo system that are currently being implemented by the City,
include the installation of Mobile Data Terminals (MDT) and a Global
Positioning System (GPS) in all Para Transpo vans, as well as an Interactive
Voice Response system (IVR) in the City’s Para Transpo reservation section.
This technology will enhance the existing
computer aided Para Transpo dispatch system, improve schedule adherence,
increase driver and passenger safety, improve customer information, and allow
more efficient schedules to be developed.
PROCUREMENT AND SERVICE DELIVERY
APPROACH
The two existing Para Transpo contracts
with FirstBus Canada expire in June 2007.
The lead-time to obtain wheelchair-accessible vehicles is estimated to
be six to nine months. This means that, to have new vehicles available for July
1, 2007, they must be ordered as soon as possible. If they are to be ordered by a contractor,
the procurement process should be initiated now, with the bid solicitation
document released through the Internet no later than mid-June 2006.
The Ottawa taxi industry has begun using fully
accessible cabs and the City will be increasing the number of available
accessible plates in January 2007.
However, the number of accessible cabs that could be effectively used
within the Para Transpo system is currently very limited. It is clear that, while arrangements for Para
Transpo service should be used whenever possible to support the growth of the
accessible cab industry, it will be necessary to provide an accessible van service
to meet the majority of the needs of wheelchair users at least for the next
five years.
However, as indicated in the “Principles to be
Reflected in the Procurement Process” listed below, the availability of accessible
cabs and the cost-effectiveness of delivering service with cabs will be a
consideration when awarding a van and sedan contract.
The principles on which the two stage
Request For Qualifications and Request For Tender will be based are summarized
below. The principles were developed in
conjunction with Supply Management in order to ensure an open, fair and
transparent procurement process.
The focus of the
procurement will be customer service and cost.
The bid solicitation document will be written so that the service
delivered will meet the customers’ needs at the lowest tendered cost.
1. One bid solicitation
document will be issued to include the two-stage procurement process. The pre-qualification process will include
both mandatory and rated criteria with a pass grade, and only those bidders who
are qualified will be considered for contract award in the tender stage, as the
lowest responsive bidder:
· Potential bidders will be
required to bid on both wheelchair-accessible van service and non-accessible
sedan service.
·
A number of service levels will be included in the procurement process
and bidders will be required to bid on all the service level options listed.
· Before awarding a van and
sedan contract, a comparison will be made to the cost of delivering service
through the existing taxi contracts.
· One contract will be awarded
and the service level awarded will be based on the mix of vehicles (van, sedan,
taxis) that would be available for July 1, 2007 that will deliver the overall
most cost-effective service, in the sole opinion of City staff.
2. Clauses will be included in the bid
solicitation document to allow for adjustments in service levels over the
contract period based on budget approvals as well as additional service
delivery options that may become available such as Taxi Script.
3.
The wheelchair-accessible van service and the non-accessible sedan
service will contain the following elements:
· A five-year contract (with
an option for one additional year if both parties are in agreement) to ensure
that the wheelchair-accessible vans used to deliver the service provides an
acceptable level of service throughout the entire contract period.
· The successful bidder will
be required to purchase and maintain the vehicles used to deliver the
contracted service. To ensure vehicle
suitability and comfort for customers, the bidders will have to obtain approval
from the city for the vehicles that they want to supply to fulfill the
contract.
4.
The bid solicitation document will contain performance measures and
service standard clauses, which will ensure a high quality of service in areas
such as service reliability, customer service, cleanliness, safety and
maintenance standards.
5.
The bid solicitation document will include provisions that minimize the
City’s exposure to service disruptions.
6.
The bid solicitation document will require the successful bidder to
ensure that appropriate disability awareness and sensitivity training is
provided to all drivers.
7.
The bid solicitation document will include the requirement for the
successful bidder to recognise the ATU 279 as the bargaining agent for the Para
Transpo drivers, to resolve all collective agreements via final and binding
interest arbitration and to hire all the FirstBus Para Transpo drivers required
to meet the contract obligations.
8.
In order to ensure an open, fair and transparent procurement process,
the bid evaluation will be conducted by an evaluation team comprised of senior
staff from Transit Services, and Supply Management and will be based solely on
the basis of award as stipulated in the bid solicitation document.
9.
The competitive process will be designed to ensure a fair evaluation of
all the bids, determining which will result in the best value for the City, as
evidenced by the lowest responsive bidder having passed through the
pre-qualification stage.
10. The
bids will be based on:
· a common Statement of Work
that all bidders must respond to;
·
the provision of adequate information so that all bidders are
knowledgeable enough to bid on an informed basis; and
· a fair and objective
evaluation of all bids received by an
evaluation team of city staff.
The competitive process detailed in this report is
designed to result in the most cost-effective Para Transpo service that meets
customers’ needs. The procurement
process will allow a full assessment of the options under current market
conditions. There will be a full review
of the procurement results in accordance with the bid document, followed by the
award of contract by delegated authority to City staff in accordance with the
recommendations of this report and the City Purchasing By-Law.
CONSULTATION/PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
Information on the
recommended service delivery approach and the feasibility of implementing a
Taxi Script pilot project was sent to members of the Accessibility Advisory
Committee, the Seniors Advisory Committee and the Pedestrian and Transit
Advisory Committee with a request that they provide preliminary feedback. A meeting was also held with the Transportation
subcommittee of the Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee, where the
procurement approach and Taxi Script option were discussed.
Feedback received from these
groups was generally positive. There was
support for both the service delivery approach and for further investigation of
the feasibility of implementing a Taxi Script pilot project. Specific feedback included the following:
·
There was a positive response to the service delivery approach, as it
will deliver service that will meet the customers’ needs at the lowest tendered
cost.
·
There was also a positive response to the investigation on the possible
implementation of a Taxi Script pilot project, because it would provide Para
Transpo customers with an additional transportation option. The only concerns expressed were that a Taxi
Script pilot project should not reduce the services currently delivered by Para
Transpo. It was suggested that if a
pilot project were implemented, a separate Taxi Script budget be established
which would be in addition to the Para Transpo budget.
·
It was also suggested that if a Taxi Script pilot was implemented that
there be safeguards built in to avoid abuse.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The financial implications of
the recommended Para Transpo service approach will be provided in detail when
the recommendation is brought to Committee and Council in September, and will
be in compliance with Council approved budget directions.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Attachment 1 – Para Transpo
Ridership
DISPOSITION
Staff will develop and
distribute the bid solicitation document for accessible van and supplementary
sedan service through the Internet based MERX bid distribution network, and
investigate the possible implementation of a Taxi Script program. The result of the competitive procurement
will be approved by staff, and the further work done on Taxi Script will be
used to develop recommendations for the future delivery of Para Transpo
services, to be presented to Committee and Council in the fourth quarter of
2006.
ATTACHMENT 1
PARA TRANSPO
RIDERSHIP
PARA TRANSPO SERVICE CONTRACTS AND TAXI SCRIPT PILOT
PROJECT
CONTRATS DE SERVICE PARA TRANSPO ET PROJET PILOTE DE PARTICIPATION DES
TAXIS
ACS2006-PWS-TRN-0006 CITY WIDE / À L'ÉCHELLE DE LA VILLE
Appearing before Committee to make a presentation on
the item were Public Works and Services (PWS) staff members Alain Carle, Director of
Transit Services; Helen Gault, Manager of Transit Service Planning and
Development; Pat Larkin, Program Manager of Para Transpo, and Phil Andrews, Program
Manager of Purchasing, Corporate Services.
A copy of the PowerPoint Presentation is held on file with the City
Clerk. In addition, present to answer
questions was Richard Hewitt, Acting Deputy City Manager of PWS and Lyn Hunt,
Manager of Labour Relations, Human Rights and Employment Equity, Corporate
Services. Before proceeding with the
Presentation, Mr. Carle noted a technical amendment to the report
recommendations to have the phrase ‘That
the Transportation Committee approve and recommend to Council’ taken out of
recommendation number 1 and placed before all three recommendations, to make it
clear that Council is being asked to approve all three. He also noted, with respect to the
consultation section of the report that the Taxi Advisory Committee received a
presentation on this issue on May 16th and they expressed their
support at that time; Councillor El-Chantiry, who is a non-voting member of the
Taxi Advisory Committee, also confirmed this.
Following the presentation, the Committee heard from
the following delegations:
Catherine Gardner
stated that she likes the idea of taxi vans being used by Para Transpo because
it cuts down on the amount of gas currently being used with the large Para
Transpo vans, but she had concerns about the accessibility of those taxis with
respect to larger wheelchairs. She
explained that she took a taxi the other day, though not through Para Transpo,
and she was not able to use a seat belt in that car because her wheelchair was
larger and had to sit sideways. The
chair itself was strapped down but she was not.
She noted that it is not mandatory for wheelchairs to contain a
seatbelt, and she wondered whether staff as a safety concern could deal with
this. She wondered whether the costs of
using Para Transpo versus conventional bus transit could be examined when the
new contract comes up, noting that in early a.m. hours, riders pay about $9.00
to use Para Transpo, much more than it would cost to use OC Transpo.
Councillor
El-Chantiry advised the issue of seatbelts for larger chairs had been discussed
at the Taxi Advisory Committee meeting of the day before and the taxi company
advised they will be able to provide that.
In
response to questions from Councillor Legendre, staff explained that in the
contract the City has with Coventry Connections, it looked at the wheelchair
accessible cabs and required that all such cabs providing service to Para
Transpo be able to remove the front passenger seat so that wheelchairs can fit
inside appropriately. When asked by the
Councillor, Ms. Gardner replied that the taxi she used was a Blue Line
accessible cab, and she added that the middle seat was removed but she was told
that for larger chairs, there is not enough room for them to turn so they have
to go in straight and sit sideways without a seatbelt.
When
asked by Councillor Bloess, staff explained that the $9.00 fare Ms. Gardner
referred to is for rural Para Transpo service, which amounts to 10% of the
overall cost averaged out for the various zones outside the urban transit
area. Likewise, the fare paid within the
urban transit area amounts to 10% of that overall cost. Ms. Gardner disagreed with Councillor Bloess’
reasoning that the fares are comparable when you take into account the type of
service being offered, the time of day one uses it, and the costs of providing
that service.
Donna
Lynn Ahee, Secretary Treasurer, Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 279
asked the Committee to re-consider providing an opportunity to do an in-house
bid. She advised they were very successful
the last time around, providing an in-house bid that was $7 Million cheaper,
and they would like the opportunity to do that again. She expressed concerns about the number of
rides that are left unfilled, and she believes that they would be able to provide
more service for the same amount of money that the City is paying out right
now. She also requested that the RFP,
when it goes out, include rating criteria that does not disadvantage an
in-house bid. She explained this has
been a problem because despite the fact they provided a lower bid, the rating
criteria were such that it would not allow them to include certain cost saving
advantages, such as GST rebates or the ability to save on dispatch services, in
their bid because it was declared to be unfair to private bid contractors. Further, part of that $7 Million in savings
included monies that could have been leveraged from the provincial government,
who at the time was interested in providing infrastructure funding. In total they offered $4.5 Million of real
and direct savings and the potential for additional savings through government
grants, none of which they were permitted to include in their bid because of
the rating criteria. The ATU recognizes
that some councillors were sceptical about the in-house bid in the last
process, and questioned whether or not the bid was audited according to the
standards, and whether they could actually deliver on the promises they
made. Ms. Ahee assured they could
deliver and informed the Committee, by way of example, that in Saskatoon the
Para Transpo Services were brought in-house from the contractor on the
stipulation that they would be using the same funding formula and package as
what was previously provided to the contractor, and they were extremely successful,
accomplishing not only union ideals with respect to employee working conditions
and contract negotiations, but also providing an increased level of service at
lower cost (the same cost to the taxpayer) because they were not making a
profit margin and were able to re-invest all those monies saved into more Para
Transpo Services for the customers there.
She also noted a KPMG study of ten years ago that looked at the costs of
Para Transpo and conventional service and suggested, among other things, that
to find efficiencies and to treat members of the disabled community as first
class citizens with the same transportation rights as every other public
citizen in Ottawa, the integration of services should be better examined.
Responding
to questions from Councillor Cullen, staff clarified that they did not
contemplate the possibility of permitting an in-house bid at this point in time
because of an agreement that was signed in June 2005 between the City and the
Local ATU 279 with regards to how subsequent RFPs would go out. There was no discussion in that document with
regards to in-house bids in the future, but there was a series of elements in
that agreement to deal with how the current employees of the Para Transpo Group
/ First Bus Group, who are incidentally 279 members, would be treated if there
is a subsequent RFP, and there was a lot of language around what sorts of
requirements would be put in place for future RFPs and around successor
rights. Staff advised that if Committee
so wishes, they could come back with a report dealing with the inclusion of
in-house bids, but they noted the timeframe for decision-making is rather
short.
In
response to questions from Councillor Legendre, staff explained that nothing in
the process needs to be changed in order to allow for an in-house bid, but that
there is a timing element involved as the document has to go out mid-June so
that service is on the street for July 1st of next year, meaning
that the respondents would need to prepare a package quickly. When asked by Councillor Legendre, Ms. Ahee
responded that she does not believe this to be a problem. She further added that one of the concerns
that will likely be raised, which is the reason the ATU brought this issue
forward to Committee, is the need for OC Transpo to ensure that employees who
are in charge of evaluating the bids are not also involved in the bidding
process. Staff noted that, in terms of
managed competition, it is really quite a complex and lengthy process, which,
last time around involved consultants and procurement staff, and making sure
that everything was fairly done.
The
delegations being heard, Committee members posed questions to staff.
Responding
to questions and concerns from Councillor McRae, staff provided the following
clarifications:
·
The cost per trip to the City is
approximately $25-30, depending on the type of vehicle. This analysis would be
done during the bidding process, selecting the type of vehicles that would meet
the needs of the customer.
·
The service has been in operation with the
non-accessible cabs for a number of years now, and is actually not the least
expensive; the sedan service being provided by First Bus is significantly
cheaper, coming in at about $18 per trip compared to $24 per trip roughly.
·
Staff reiterated that the reason they did not
contemplate an in-house bid as such was because of the recently signed
agreement, and they reiterated as well that if so directed by the Committee,
they could come back with a report to take a look at the figures associated with
an in-house bid, to explain the situation during the last process and to look
into the experience in Saskatoon and elsewhere.
Councillor
Cullen proposed the following motion:
That
staff report to Transportation Committee on the process to be used to accommodate
and evaluate an in-house bid to provide Para Transpo Service.
When
asked by the Councillor, staff confirmed that Para Transpo service is simply
based on disability, and that customers are not income tested. The concept is that the City provides a
subsidized service for the disabled who cannot access conventional
transportation and thus use private sector taxis. The Councillor provided Committee members
with copies of a motion to be considered later in the day at a joint meeting of
the Seniors Advisory Committee and the Accessibility Advisory Committee dealing
with Para Transpo service. He felt that
the report now before the Transportation Committee allows for that discussion
on service delivery, but members of the Committee and the Acting Chair Doucet
felt it was a discussion for another day, and was not in keeping with the
subject of this report. Councillor
Cullen pointed out this issue is very important to the advisory committees, and
he wanted TRC members to be aware of it, but he agreed to stand down this
discussion and bring it back later.
In
response to questions from Councillor El-Chantiry, staff provided the following
clarifications:
·
Everybody who is disabled and unable to use
conventional transit due to disability, regardless of income, will qualify for
the service.
·
The cost of Para Transpo service is based on
distance and is determined through a zoning system known as the Urban Transit
Area (UTA). The cost is averaged out by
considering the average distance of a trip within the UTA to a mid point, and
the further out from the UTA one travels, the more the cost increases. The total cost of providing that trip is
borne by the taxpayer and the user, and the decision has been made for the user
to pay 10% of that overall cost.
·
Staff acknowledge that issues persist with respect to customer requests
for service and missed trips and point out that the issue is availability of
resources to meet the demand, particularly in the morning when service runs out
quickly and refusals occur because there are no additional resources. There is often a backlog of calls at 9 a.m.
in the morning and although staff are answering as many calls as possible on
the17 phone lines, which are often times busy for up to an hour or more in the
mornings from Monday to Friday, some calls will be missed and not all trips can
be accommodated. Other customers may
simply give up calling or not call at all due to frustration.
·
Staff has talked to Bell Canada and looked at the system for a solution
to help it handle the large volume of calls it has to handle at one time. An Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System
has been installed and is now being tested where customers would be able to
phone the automated system and get right into the scheduling of the trips to
find out where their trips are, to cancel their own transportation, to lighten
the load on the phone lines. Although
this may require a long education process, staff feels it will assist in the
call time.
·
Para Transpo has a contract with Coventry Connection right now using
the wheelchair accessible cabs, i.e. the side entry cabs. They will handle the majority of wheelchairs
with the front passenger seat removed, which the London Cabs will not because
of the sizing issue, and will be using more of them as they become more
available within the City of Ottawa.
In response to questions
from Councillor Legendre, staff provided the following details:
·
Staff confirmed that the percentages used in Slide 10 of their
presentation represent the amount of van service and sedan service, not the
cost. The First Bus, sedan service and
the taxi contract provided by Westway totalled is 27% of the service provided;
the accessible taxi is 3%.
·
The contract will be awarded based on the company that provides a cost
effective vehicle or mix of vehicles that suit customers’ needs.
·
Staff now have a small number of accessible cabs they can use and have
determined that it is an efficient way of providing service, so that will be
considered during the tender process.
Staff has the flexibility of significantly increasing the taxi services
within the existing taxi contracts and they do not expire until 2009, so
depending on the numbers that come in during the bid process, it has the
flexibility of lowering certain contracts and increasing others to meet the
needs of the customers as well as the taxpayers.
Responding to questions from
Councillor Bloess, staff provided the following clarifications:
·
With respect to the taxi script versus taxi chit program, the City
would pay the discount. It is a saving
to taxpayers and it will provide a different level of service as it will be
direct service from a cab company, no shared ride, which makes this a premium
service and they will be paying more for it and it will take trips off Para
Transpo for those who can afford it.
·
Staff has had some consultation with the taxi industry and has
determined that 40 additional accessible plates are coming in January. Staff is also looking to see what can be done
to improve the quality of service for Para Transpo customers as well as the
taxpayers and will use that to increase the availability of accessible cabs for
other purposes within the City.
·
Staff is also looking at their managerial aspects and skills as well as
those in the taxi industry in order to improve communication. The industry is willing to increase their
capabilities in terms of enhancing their dispatching capacities to have
improved management, and staff is supporting them in that regard. With respect to the dispatch system, staff is
currently using the IVR System that is connected directly to the phone system
into the Trapeze System so that it will provide more flexibility to customers
and mitigate some dispatching problems.
·
There are currently four contracts and managers taking care of those
contracts. Determining how effective the
service is generally depends on what trip goes to what vehicle, with the
customer and the taxpayer in mind.
In considering the motion
proposed by Councillor Cullen, concerns were expressed about the timing
involved in coming back with a report and still allowing the RFP process to
move forward on time. Councillor
Legendre suggested that a more efficient use of time would be for Councillor
Cullen to modify his motion so that it is a direction to staff. Councillor Cullen felt the City could not
refuse an in-house bid, but felt that the issue is more about the RFP
evaluation criteria, and thus felt that Committee needs a report to come back
on that before proceeding.
When asked by Councillor
Legendre, staff responded that they could come back quickly with a report but
noted there are budget implications.
With respect to the criteria, staff acknowledged that there are some
differences between in-house bidders and the others that cannot be strictly
accommodated in terms of comparison. For
example, GST requirements are different for in-house contracts. A fairness
approach, usually via a fairness commissioner, is required in such instances to
ensure that evaluations are equal and fair and staff would need to take that
consideration if accepting an in-house bid.
Staff would aim to bring back the report for the last meeting in June.
When asked by Councillor
Thompson as to whether the timeframe associated with this report would impact
the timeframe at all for a bid, staff explained that the request for tender
should go out mid June to guarantee delivery of new vehicles for July 1st
of next year. The delivery schedule is
somewhere between six and nine months for specially equipped wheelchair
accessible vans. Upon further thought,
Acting Deputy City Manager Hewitt felt staff could take a look at this, and
advise Committee as early as two weeks from now on how they would proceed. He suggested the possibility of a parallel
process whereby staff would go with request for qualifications for external
bids while continuing to work on the internal bid issues, and then bring the
two together and move forward from there.
Moved by Councillor A
Cullen:
That staff report to Transportation Committee on the process to be used
to accommodate and evaluate an ‘in-house’ bid to provide Para Transpo service.
CARRIED
The Committee then
considered the report recommendation, as amended by staff’s technical amendment
and by the foregoing resolution.
That the Transportation Committee approve and recommend to Council:
1. The service delivery concepts and procurement methodology
detailed in this report, noting that the bid solicitation document will be
released for Para Transpo service in June 2006;
2. That
the Deputy City Manager, Public Works and Services be delegated authority to
approve a contract award based on the process identified in this report for
service provision beyond June 2007; and,
3. That a report be brought to Committee and Council in the
fourth quarter 2006 which deals with the results of this procurement process,
together with further investigation into the possible implementation details of
a Taxi Script program.
4. That
staff report to Transportation Committee on the process to be used to
accommodate and evaluate an ‘in-house’ bid to provide Para Transpo service.
CARRIED, as amended