NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
TO CONDUCT A 511DFW TRAVELER INFORMATION SYSTEM INDEPENDENT EVALUATION
APRIL 10, 2015
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS 511DFW TRAVELER INFORMATION SYSTEM – INDEPENDENT EVALUATION
INTRODUCTION The 511DFW Traveler Information System was developed, implemented and tested as part of the US 75 Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) project.
The current 511DFW system is
operational and includes roadway and transit information in addition to a personalized MY511 feature. An independent evaluation is needed to determine the optimum operation, funding and management of the system. Additionally, this evaluation will provide a funding estimation and assist with decisions for administration and funding in the future.
NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) is a voluntary association of, by, and for local governments, and was established to assist local governments in planning for common needs, cooperating for mutual benefit, and coordinating for sound regional development. NCTCOG’s purpose is to strengthen both the individual and collective power of local governments and to help them recognize regional opportunities, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and make joint decisions.
BACKGROUND The 511DFW Traveler Information System is the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Region’s official traffic and transit information source that began live operation in April 2013. 511DFW is the first and only 511 system operational in the State of Texas. The system provides timely, useful, highquality, comprehensive, readily available and easily accessible information for multiple modes of transportation to travelers in the DFW region. 511DFW is envisioned to be a single source for providing regional traveler information including the following:
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planned and unplanned incident information and status,
modal availability,
travel times,
speeds, conditions, and congestion information for roadways,
transit routes, schedules and vehicle tracking
weather,
parking management,
and other information.
The existing 511DFW system covers transportation systems and services throughout the North Texas area covering ten counties (Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant and Wise).
Regional partners would like to evaluate the existing 511DFW and compare with other regions or states with 511 to identify recommended improvements and approaches for the continued operation of the system.
PURPOSE AND NEED The purpose of this project is to prepare an independent evaluation of the existing 511DFW traveler information system and to determine the most efficient and cost effective methodology, management, organizational and technological applications to provide traveler, commuter and transit information.
PROJECT SUPPORT
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The project will be conducted under the guidance and supervision of a Project Review Committee (PRC), which may include members of NCTCOG, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and other key technical stakeholders.
NCTCOG will serve as the Project Manager to implement a mutually agreed upon scope of services, monitor progress of consultant services, and serve as a liaison between the consultant and other partner agencies. The selected consultant will enter into a contract with NCTCOG for the agreed upon scope and budget.
NCTCOG shall serve as the contract manager and
procurement administrator for the project. The selected consultant will manage the project through data collection, technical analyses and assessments.
The proposer selected to conduct the 511DFW Traveler Information System Independent Evaluation will not be eligible to propose on future NCTCOG procurements to secure a firm to implement recommendations resulting from this independent evaluation.
SCOPE OF SERVICES This document is to establish a scope of services for a systematic evaluation of the 511DFW traveler
and transit
information
system,
including
comparisons
to
similar
systems,
recommendations for improvement, and identification and evaluation of alternatives for long-term viability of the 511DFW.
Task 1: Project Administration The consultant will provide a Project Management Plan which will include the detailed discussion of:
Work program elements and deliverables
Project master schedule and update procedures
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Progress reports
Budget tracking and control procedures
Staff commitments and utilization
Deliverables:
Project Management Plan
Master Schedule Updates
Progress Reports
Minutes from meetings
All deliverables will be delivered to Client in agreed upon electronic format. All information will be provided in electronic format, compatible with Microsoft Office Application and Adobe PDF format.
Task 2: Evaluate Existing 511DFW The objective of this task is to evaluate existing web and phone-based 511 system in DFW region against the respective national guidelines and recommended best practices. The consultant will evaluate and compare the existing 511DFW system to other traveler information systems including existing regional and statewide systems, noting opportunities to improve the following:
management and organizational structure,
cost and potential private-sector partnerships
information dissemination methodology,
technical and management services in support of the development, operations, and maintenance of the system.
Evaluation shall include, but is not limited to, the following components and aspects of the 511DFW:
Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
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o
Data Available
o
Voice Recognition
o
Ease of Use
Website o
Data Available
o
Ease of Use
My511 Personalization System o
Data Available
o
Options
o
Ease of Use
Deliverables: The consultant firm(s) will generate a draft report of the evaluation of existing web and phonebased 511 system in DFW region against the respective national guidelines and recommended best practices. The consultant firm(s) will hold a meeting with the PRC to go over draft findings and address comments from partner agencies.
A final report will be generated based on
comments and meeting input. All information will be provided in electronic format, compatible with Microsoft Office Application and Adobe PDF format.
Task 3: Develop a List of Prioritized Needs The consultant will develop a list of prioritized needs, services, and contract requirements to continue operation and make possible enhancements to the current 511DFW capabilities and information. At a minimum the following items should be included:
Identify, recommend, rank, and provide associated cost estimates for prioritized needs, services and contract requirements,
Provide a table of advantages and disadvantages,
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Provide other pertinent information,
Provide examples where applicable options and combinations of options, resulting in a menu of innovative alternatives for a new system or improvements to the existing 511DFW system.
Alternatives for consideration will include:
Cost reduction opportunities for initial and ongoing costs,
Revenue generation opportunities,
Combination of new and existing facets of the 511DFW system and its supporting organizational structure.
Potential considerations for traveler information system should include the following:
Continue the use of the existing 511DFW system,
Develop a new system,
Develop a partially new system, with salvaged components of the existing system,
Create or join an existing consortium of users, in which the benefits of new subsystems are shared with the user group,
Completely outsource product and management, with single agency oversight,
Recommend alternative strategies for management by an agency or a subset of the regional agencies,
A hybrid of outsourced and agency management,
New and innovative systems that can interface with the existing technologies currently available to the public,
Integrate the 511DFW into a larger statewide 511 system,
Other options. o
Allows users to set preferences for camera views, traffic trips, transit and driving time trips and other information,
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o
The My511 system will recognize a caller’s phone number when calling the IVR,
o
The My511 system will recognize a user through login and password to provide a customized web page view with selected information
o
Potential improvements beyond the functionality provided by the existing system including the following:
Provide a Mobile app for mobile device usage,
Provide a live 511 response operator upon request,
Provide service in Spanish or other additional languages other than English,
Integrate the speeds (freeways and arterials) to allow proper function of MY511,
Fill in gaps of missing speed data, such as some frontage road segments,
Add Bike/Pedestrian trails and routes to the 511 system,
Add new information, such as roadway pavement conditions: clear, icy, wet, flooded, etc.,
Ensure that 511DFW comments are being accessed and addressed,
Ensure TxDOT construction activities are entered in 511 database,
Other improvements.
Deliverables: The consultant firm(s) will generate a draft report of a list of prioritized needs, services, and contract requirements to continue to operate and make possible enhancements to the current 511DFW capabilities and information. The consultant firm(s) will hold a meeting with partner agencies to go over draft findings and address comments from partner agencies. A final report will be generated based on comments and meeting input. All information will be provided in electronic format, compatible with Microsoft Office Application and Adobe PDF format.
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Task 4: Develop an Implementation Plan and Schedule The objective of this task is to develop an implementation plan and schedule to meet the established target date for the continued operation and possible enhancements to the current 511DFW systems to be in place. At a minimum the following items should be included with no lapse in service for the 511DFW.
Plan and schedule to continue to operate the current system,
Plan and schedule to adjust management and organizational structure, if recommended,
Plan and schedule to procure a new system, if recommended,
Plan and schedule to implement a new system, if recommended.
Deliverables: The consultant firm(s) will generate a draft report of an implementation plan and schedule based on the outcome of Task 3. The consultant firm(s) will hold a meeting with partner agencies to go over draft findings and address comments from partner agencies. A final report will be generated based on comments and meeting input. All information will be provided in electronic format, compatible with Microsoft Office Application and Adobe PDF format. Task 5: Project Close Out The consultant firm(s) will close out the project by providing all deliverables and a final closeout report. All final deliverables including a report recommending future 511DFW approaches and criteria, sample reports and documents, and other project-related information will be provided to NCTCOG. NCTCOG concurrence will be required to verify that objectives and deliverables were met.
Deliverables:
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Final Close Out Report
SCHEDULE AND BUDGET This project is envisioned as a four-month independent evaluation with an anticipated Notice to Proceed (NTP) date of June 26, 2015. This project will have a budget of approximately $50,000.
CONSULTANT SELECTION CRITERIA The Consultant Selection Committee (CSC) will review all proposals and select a firm it considers qualified to undertake the project. The following criteria will be used to evaluate the proposals: 1. Project Understanding
25 percent
2. Scope of Services
25 percent
3. Project Management/Staff Qualifications
20 percent
4. Project Cost
15 percent
5. Firm Qualifications/Consultant References
10 percent
6. Project Schedule
5 percent
If the CSC determines interviews will be required before a final decision can be made, the interviews will take place at the North Central Texas Council of Governments office in Arlington, Texas on June 5, 2015.
Proposers should be willing to attend interviews if necessary.
Consultants who are invited to an interview will be notified the week of May 25, 2015 that an interview has been scheduled.
Other requirements are that the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise participation should meet the 26.79 percentage goal identified for this type of procurement and that an Affirmative Action Plan is included in the proposal. Failure on the part of a majority contractor to meet this goal or to show meaningful good faith efforts may be grounds for finding the proposal nonresponsive. Following final negotiations of the work plan and costs satisfactory to NCTCOG, the consultant
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will be asked to execute a contract with NCTCOG. A Notice to Proceed will be issued upon execution of the contract. NCTCOG reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, to contract for any or all portions of the project with the selected consultant, or to hire multiple firms. The successful responder(s) to this Request for Proposals is expected to provide qualified personnel to accomplish each portion of the work in this study.
NCTCOG will maintain the right to request the removal of any personnel found, in its opinion, during the course of work on this project, to be unqualified to perform the work.
The Sample Contract, provided in this transmittal, contains federal requirements which must be included with all proposals submitted. Appendices C through K of the sample contract contain compliance requirements and certification forms which must accompany the proposal. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in finding the Proposal non-responsive.
All questions regarding the services required shall be directed in writing by e-mail to
[email protected] by the close of business on Friday, April 17, 2015. All questions and responses will be posted on NCTCOG’s website at http://www.nctcog.org/trans/admin/rfp/ by the close of business on Wednesday, April 22, 2015. NCTCOG reserves the right to respond to inquiries as it deems necessary.
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