REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JOE VARGAS, Director
Department of Transportation
BY: BRIAN BARR, Assistant Director
Department of Transportation
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the award of a sole source purchase agreement with Trapeze Software Group, Inc. dba Vontas of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the amount of $2,845,844 to upgrade the Computer Aided Dispatch Automated Vehicle Location (CAD/AVL) system for the Department of Transportation Fresno Area Express:
1. RESOLUTION - Adopt a Resolution approving an exception to formal bidding procedures and award a sole source purchase agreement for a CAD/AVL system, software, services, and related components
2. Approve the award of a sole source purchase agreement with Trapeze Software Group, Inc. dba Vontas of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the amount of $2,845,844 to upgrade the CAD/AVL system for Fresno Area Express, and authorize the Director of Transportation, or designee, to execute all related documents
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council award a sole source product purchase contract to Trapeze Software Group, Inc. dba Vontas of Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the amount of $2,845,844 to upgrade the CAD/AVL system for the Department of Transportation Fresno Area Express (FAX).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
FAX is seeking to replace and upgrade its CAD/AVL system originally installed in 1997, by Rockwell Collins, now Trapeze Software Group Inc dba Vontas. CAD/AVL is a system which connects the vehicle seamlessly with back-office scheduling and dispatch software. It automatically collects vital data used by dispatchers such as GPS locations, schedule adherence, status, vehicle breakdowns, and emergencies. It also integrates with vehicle head signs, annunciators, and passenger information systems. The upgraded system will increase functionality and add new features enhancing bus operations and customer experience. Enhancements include the integration of vehicle telematics, vehicle health, and electronic vehicle inspections with vehicle maintenance and dispatch software increasing reliability during revenue service operations. New capabilities include modern onboard technology to transmit real-time passenger loads, turn-by-turn navigation, operational data analysis, and vehicle intelligence analysis for predictive maintenance. This system includes the latest technology and will be on par with the major transit agencies across the nation.
The existing CAD/AVL system is proprietary to Vontas. Therefore, Vontas is the only vendor able to upgrade the standalone CAD/AVL system and integrate into the existing transit software products provided by Trapeze Software Group, Inc. An award to any other source will result in substantial duplication of cost which cannot be recovered through competition, which is estimated at $4 million or more. The savings is realized as FAX owns the license to the Vontas CAD/AVL system and this is an upgrade of existing systems. Whereas, a new vendor would be an outright replacement, including the purchase of new licenses at much higher price point.
This contract is separate and unrelated to the Services Contract awarded to Trapeze Software Group Inc. on March 24, 2022, by Council. The aforementioned Services Contract continued software maintenance and support services of applications used by FAX for general operations, scheduling and maintenance. It also added the ability to track and manage the maintenance of all federal assets. Whereas this is a product purchase for the replacement and enhancement of CAD/AVL onboard vehicle hardware, telematics, GPS, supporting communication systems, and services required to implement these improvements.
BACKGROUND
In 1997, Council awarded a contract to Rockwell Collins for a then state-of-the-art CAD/AVL System for FAX. Over a series of acquisitions, the CAD/AVL system is now provided by Trapeze Software Group Inc. dba Vontas.
CAD/AVL is a system which connects the vehicle seamlessly with the back-office scheduling and dispatch software. It automatically collects vital data used by dispatchers such as GPS locations, schedule adherence, status, vehicle breakdowns, and emergencies. It also integrates with vehicle head signs, annunciators, and passenger information systems enhancing the customer experience. It is vital to transit operations.
The upgraded system will increase functionality and add new features enhancing bus operations and customer experience. Enhancements include the integration of vehicle telematics, vehicle health, and electronic vehicle inspections with vehicle maintenance and dispatch software. This greatly enhances FAX’s ability to maintain vehicles in a state of good repair, increasing reliability during revenue service operations and decreasing vehicle breakdowns.
New capabilities include modern onboard technology to transmit real-time information back to dispatch and will be installed in both fixed route and paratransit vehicles. The existing system is limited and can only transmit basic vehicle telematics and GPS locations every 40-60 seconds. The system will transmit data in real-time enabling additional features not previously possible. This includes turn-by-turn navigation, live operational data and live vehicle health analytics. Vehicle health analytics will allow FAX to predict maintenance needs before catastrophic failure occurs. Additionally, this system will integrate with the onboard automatic passenger counters and transmit real-time passenger loads back to dispatch. In the future, this data can be then published in real time to riders with yet to be determined customer interfaces. Finally, the transmission of real time data will assist FAX with managing on-time performance and schedule adherence benefiting the entire system.
Immediate customer facing improvements include an upgraded interactive voice response system for customer support, interactive trip planning, and bus arrival information through the phone system 621-RIDE in both English and Spanish languages.
The new onboard hardware will enhance FAX’s incident reporting and emergency services via covert alarm features increasing safety and security on the fixed route system. The system will interconnect with the onboard security cameras enabling the use of live CCTV feeds in the event of an emergency. This valuable tool will provide FAX police officers with critical information and reduce response times in the event of an emergency.
For the past 10 years, FAX has typically contracted with Trapeze Software Group, Inc. for all transit operational related software due to the native integration with existing systems, including CAD/AVL. In April 2021, Trapeze Software Group, Inc. launched Vontas, a new business unit to focus on the CAD/AVL system needs of its customers. Therefore, since April 2021, CAD/AVL products from this vendor are sourced from Trapeze Software Group, Inc. dba Vontas. All other software products are provided by the Trapeze Software Group corporation. FAX has eleven of the software products.
The existing CAD/AVL system is proprietary and only accessible to its original vendor Vontas. Therefore, Vontas is the only vendor able to upgrade the standalone CAD/AVL system and integrate into the existing transit software products provided by Trapeze Software Group, Inc. An award to any other source will result in substantial duplication of cost which cannot be recovered through competition. The independent cost estimate to replace the CAD/AVL system with another vendors equipment and software exceeds $4 million and does not guarantee integration into the existing transit software products critical to day-to-day bus operations, scheduling and maintenance. The savings is realized as FAX owns the license to the Vontas CAD/AVL system and this is an upgrade of existing systems. Whereas, a new vendor would be an outright replacement, including the purchase of new licenses at much higher price point.
This contract is separate and unrelated to the Services Contract awarded to Trapeze Software Group on March 24, 2022, by Council. The aforementioned Services Contract continued software maintenance and support services of applications used by FAX for general operations, scheduling and maintenance. It also added the ability to track and manage the maintenance of all federal assets. Whereas this is a sole source product purchase for the replacement and enhancement of CAD/AVL onboard vehicle hardware, telematics, GPS, supporting communication systems, and services required to implement these improvements.
The City Attorney has approved the contract to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378, the award of this contract does not qualify as a “project.”
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not applicable as this is a sole source product purchase.
FISCAL IMPACT
This project has no fiscal impact to the General Fund. This project will be 100% funded from State of California Proposition 1B California Public Transportation Modernization, Improvements and Service Enhancement Account (PTSIMEA) and SB-1 State of Good Repair funds.
The breakdown in funding is as follows:
PTMISEA $2,658,135
SB-1 $187,709
Attachments:
Resolution
Product Purchase Contract