REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: GREGORY A. BARFIELD, M.A., Assistant City Manager and Interim Director
Department of Transportation
BY: LINDA TAYLOR, Administrative Manager
Department of Transportation
SARAH LAMBETH, Management Analyst II
Department of Transportation
SUBJECT
Title
Reject all proposals for Product Requirements Contract 12301979 for the procurement of fare media to be used by the Department of Transportation/Fresno Area Express (FAX).
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council reject all bid proposals for Product Requirements Contract 12301979 as a bid deposit was not established in accordance with FMC1208. Staff further recommends Council direct staff to complete a submission for a rebid that includes the required bid deposit language.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On March 28, 2023, staff solicited competitive bids for the procurement of physical fare media for FAX bus patrons. Contract language requiring a bid deposit in accordance with FMC1208 was inadvertently omitted from the solicitation. Therefore, the Department of Transportation is requesting approval to reject all bid proposals for Product Requirements Contract 12301979. The Department of Transportation intends to resubmit the product requirements contract which will include language requiring a bid deposit in accordance with FMC1208.
BACKGROUND
Fresno Area Express (FAX) directly operates more than 120 fixed route buses throughout the City of Fresno’s 18 route transit system. Last fiscal year, FAX provided over 6.9 million rides transporting passengers nearly 20 million miles. FAX expects these numbers to grow substantially in the coming years as ridership returns to pre-pandemic levels. A rise in ridership will increase FAX’s need for physical fare media.
Ride tickets and passes such as those advertised in the above referenced solicitation are used by a wide variety of passengers. Organizations such as the Department of Child and Family Services, the Department of Corrections, and Turning Point of Central California purchase these passes in bulk to provide their customers with transportation to and from many essential services. Several schools throughout Fresno purchase bulk passes to distribute to students providing transportation to and from class for those who may not have access to personal vehicles or school-provided transportation. Manchester Transit Center also offers ride tickets and passes to eligible individuals at a discounted rate.
On March 28, 2023, FAX solicited bids from qualified vendors for the procurement of physical fare media to be used by FAX bus patrons. FAX received two (2) bid proposals, one from Magnetic Ticket and Label, and one from Electronic Data Magnetics. Both bidders were verified as being responsive and responsible. After receiving the bids, staff was notified that all bids must be rejected due to the inadvertent omission of contract language requiring a bid deposit as stated in FMC1208.
Offering physical fare media helps ensure equitable access to public transportation offered by the City of Fresno’s Department of Transportation. Therefore, staff recommends Council approve the rejection of all bids and direct staff to rebid the project as soon as practicable.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378, this request to reject all bids does not qualify as a “project.”
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not implemented as there were no local vendors who submitted a bid proposal.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to the General Fund or FAX Enterprise Funds from this request to reject all bids.
Attachments:
Notice Inviting Bids
Product Requirements Contract for Fresno Area Express Fare Media
Bid Evaluation Form