City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: 1/10/11 Item Number: C-4
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: Approval of a Professional Services Agreement
with Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates in the Amount of $124,999 to Conduct
a Line-by-Line Analysis for Culver CityBus, as Required by the Federal Transit
Administration.
Contact Person/Dept.:
Samantha M. Blackshire/Transportation
Department
Phone Number:
(310) 253-6535
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: _______________
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas – City Council (01/05/11); (E-Mail)
Ongoing Topics – Culver CityBus (01/05/11); (Published) Culver City News (10/28/10);
(Published) Passenger Transport (10/25/10)
Department Approval:
Art A. Ida (12/23/10)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (01/04/11)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (01/05/11)
City Manager Approval:
John M. Nachbar (01/05/11)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council approve a professional services agreement with
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates in the amount of $124,999 to conduct a Line-
by-Line Analysis for Culver CityBus
BACKGROUND:
Culver City is required by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to perform a Line-
by-Line Analysis (LLA) of its transit routes at least once every three years. The last
LLA occurred in March, 2007. This triennial analysis provides data to evaluate the
performance and productivity of all routes. It also serves as a management tool for
short and long range service planning. This analysis is especially critical for the
future service planning of major projects such as Expo Light Rail and Playa Vista.
An LLA involves a system-wide ridership count for weekdays and weekends, an
onboard ridership survey, a transfer survey, a complete analysis and summary of all
data obtained, including supplementary tables, and scheduling assistance based on
the findings of the LLA. It usually takes four to six weeks to complete the work. The
actual data collection will occur during the month of March, which will provide the
optimum data for the survey.
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
An LLA is an important planning document for a transit agency. This particular
analysis is of significant importance due to decreasing ridership levels and
diminishing revenues currently experienced throughout the industry. The LLA guides
the transit agency in evaluating and implementing all types of service changes. It
provides the agency with statistically significant system-wide ridership data, an
evaluation of bus routes via productivity measures (such as passengers and costs
per mile) and a precise look at passenger perceptions. This analysis serves as an
important tool for transit system improvements, including but not limited to, route
restructuring, or the need for supplementary or reduced service. It ultimately helps
transit agencies to function as productively and efficiently as possible.
Although Culver City Municipal Code Section 3.07.085.A exempts professional
services from the formal competitive bidding requirement, the Transportation
Department determined it was in the best interest of the City to issue a Request for
Proposals (RFP) for performance of the upcoming LLA, and released an RFP on
October 25, 2010. The RFP was published in the Culver City News and Passenger
Transport, which is the leading trade publication for the transportation industry. All
interested firms were required to submit proposals by 3:00 p.m. on December 2,
2010. The Department received a total of six proposals by the designated deadline.
One proposer (noted below) withdrew from the process due to a staffing change.
Firms that responded to the RFP are listed below with their corresponding bid
amount.
Firm Bid Amount
Connetics Transportation Group $117,832.00
Diversified Transportation Solutions $117,075.00
Moore and Associates $116,947.46
Nelson\Nygaard $124,999.00
Perteet Inc. (withdrew proposal) $118,154.00
Transportation Management & Design, Inc. $124,871.00
DISCUSSION:
An evaluation panel which consisted of the Department’s Transit Operations
Manager, Senior Management Analyst/Transportation Planner, and Management
Analyst/ Transit Operations Division reviewed all of the proposals. Each firm was
evaluated based on the following criteria:
Project Understanding 20%
Proposed Scope of Work 25%
Experience of Firm and Personnel 20%
Past Performance 20%
Project Cost 15%
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
After reviewing all of the proposals, the evaluation team scores determined that
Nelson\Nygaard was the most responsive to the RFP. Staff has confidence that
Nelson\Nygaard will exceed project expectations, as compared to lower bidding
firms.
Nelson\Nygaard has a long history in the business and possesses an excellent
reputation in the industry. The company has conducted many analyses for various
transportation agencies in Los Angeles County and throughout the United States.
The Department has seen first-hand Nelson\Nygaard’s capabilities, as
Nelson\Nygaard performed the last two LLA’s. The evaluation team felt that
Nelson\Nygaard’s cost was justified by the amount of work proposed and by the
quality of past work.
Staff believes that Nelson\Nygaard’s proposal is superior for a number of reasons.
Firstly, Nelson\Nygaard received top marks for project understanding and past
performance. Nelson\Nygaard highlighted their keen awareness of the current
economic times and the need to look for ways to improve service sustainability.
Further, Nelson\Nygaard has in-depth experience executing LLA’s for Culver City
over the past six years. Their demonstrated customer service levels are key bases
for staff’s recommendation of Nelson\Nygaard. Their subcontractor, TEMPS, Inc.
also has a proven positive track record with staff as they were accommodating and
thorough in their data collection procedures for the 2007 LLA.
In addition to Nelson\Nygaard’s history with Culver City, both the firm and the firm’s
Culver City project manager have over twenty and thirty years experience in the
transit industry, respectively. Currently, Nelson\Nygaard does not have a significant
number of concurrent projects, which would allow Nelson\Nygaard to focus on the
Culver City LLA. Their project timeline references a final deliverable presented within
six months, which meets staff expectations.
Lastly, as in previous LLA’s conducted by Nelson\Nygaard, ridership counts and
survey data will be entered into a database and then geo-coded via Geographic
Information Systems software. This will save many hours of staff time in creating the
database and will allow for more in-depth analysis on the ridership and travel
patterns.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
The Transportation Department will fund this project using local transportation funds,
which are included in the City Council Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2010/2011.
There will be no impact to the General Fund.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Summary of Evaluation Scores City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
MOTION:
That the City Council:
1. Approve a professional services agreement with Nelson Nygaard Consulting
Associates in an amount not-to-exceed $124,999 to conduct a Line-by-Line
Analysis; and,
2. Authorize the City Attorney to review/prepare the necessary documents; and,
3. Authorize the City Manager to execute such documents on behalf of the City.
MEETING DATE: 1/10/11
AGENDA ITEM: Authorization to Award a Contract to Nelson\Nygaard
Consulting Associates in the Amount of $124,999 to
conduct a Line-by-Line Analysis for Culver CityBus, as
required by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
ATTACHMENTS
Pages
1. Summary of Evaluation Scores 1
Culver CityBus
Evaluation Summary
2010 Line by Line Analysis
Evaluator #1
Project Understanding 20% 90 18 87 17.4 80 16 95 19 90 18
Proposed Scope of Work 25% 90 22.5 90 22.5 80 20 95 23.75 95 23.75
Experience of Firm and Personnel 20% 93 18.6 90 18 85 17 97 19.4 95 19
Past Performance 20% 85 17 85 17 80 16 93 18.6 90 18
Project Cost 15% 92 13.8 92 13.8 93 13.95 80 12 80 12
Total Evaluator #1 450 89.9 444 88.7 418 82.95 460 92.75 0 0 450 90.75
34 5 1 2
Evaluator #2
Project Understanding 20% 90 18 88 17.6 90 18 90 18 85 17
Proposed Scope of Work 25% 90 22.5 90 22.5 80 20 90 22.5 90 22.5
Experience of Firm and Personnel 20% 90 18 90 18 75 15 95 19 95 19
Past Performance 20% 80 16 80 16 75 15 90 18 88 17.6
Project Cost 15% 90 13.5 90 13.5 92 13.8 80 12 80 12
Total Evaluator #2 440 88 438 87.6 412 81.8 445 89.5 0 0 438 88.1
34 5 1 2
Evaluator #3
Project Understanding 20% 90 18 85 17 85 17 95 19 95 19
Proposed Scope of Work 25% 90 22.5 84 21 83 20.75 95 23.75 95 23.75
Experience of Firm and Personnel 20% 93 18.6 95 19 85 17 97 19.4 94 18.8
Past Performance 20% 83 16.6 85 17 80 16 90 18 80 16
Project Cost 15% 85 12.75 85 12.75 80 12 80 12 85 12.75
Total Evaluator #3 441 88.45 434 86.75 413 82.75 457 92.15 0 0 449 90.3
34 5 1 2
TOTAL SCORES 1331 266.35 1316 263.05 1243 247.5 1362 274.4 0 0 1337 269.15
AVERAGE 148.0833 146.45 137.417 152.22 149.3333
1 274.4
2 269.15
3 266.35
4 263.05
5 247.5
6 0 (withdraw)
$124,871.00
CONNETICS DIVERSIFIED MOORE NELSON PERTEET TMD
PERTEET
$117,832.00 $117,075.00 $116,947.46 $124,999.00 $118,154.00
NELSON
TMD
CONNETICS
DIVERSIFIED
MOORE