The Town of Collingwood

Request for Information

Operation and Maintenance of Specialized Transit Services

RFI No. FIN2021-0221

Issued: Tuesday January 28, 2020

Submission Deadline: February 11, 2021

Click HERE for the full RFI

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

1.0 Introduction

This Request for Information (“RFI”) is issued by Town of Collingwood for the purposes of gathering information about the Specialized Transit Service marketplace, in order to assist in the determination of future procurement options. Respondents are asked to reply to The Town of Collingwood and provide the information requested below in Appendix A.

The Town of Collingwood is located on the shores of Georgian Bay, approximately midway between the cities of Barrie and Owen Sound within Simcoe County. Its location along Provincial Highway 26 provides access to Grey and Bruce Counties in the West and to neighbouring Simcoe County municipalities and Toronto in the southeast. The total population of Collingwood, according to the 2016 Census, was 21,793, however we are experiencing a high rate of growth and we want to ensure our ability to service our customers grows and adapts accordingly.

For over 20 years the Town has provided accessible transportation in the municipality working with several community partners to aid residents with disabilities in their transportation needs within the Town of Collingwood. During this time, the transportation needs of the community have evolved to adapt to the changing demographic, as well as to adhere to the most recent regulations set forth by the Province of Ontario. The Accessibility of Ontarians Disability Act (AODA) integrated standards are comprised of mandated requirements for municipalities and transportation providers to adhere to when delivering transportation services.

The Town of Collingwood has continually met and exceeded the standards set forth by the Province and has been a leader in public transportation service delivery on a small-scale perspective. The current accessible services that the Town offers are as follows:

Red Cross Accessible Service

The Town of Collingwood in partnership with Red Cross operates an accessible service which parallels the operating hours of the conventional transit system. The service operates between the hours of 6:00am and 9:00pm, 7 days a week. This service is available to any customer who is unable to access conventional transit stops and is pre-registered with the service provider. The cost of the service is $2.00 which, as per Provincial regulations, is identical to the fare structure of the conventional transit system. The Town provides two vehicles to the Red Cross and the service only operates in the municipality of Collingwood. The Red Cross service provides 6,500 trips annually (5 year average) with approximately 350 registered clients.

Collingwood Accessible Taxi

The Town of Collingwood has been directly involved with providing access to on-demand accessible service within the Town of Collingwood for over 12 years. The Town has worked with several local operators to provide an on-demand service which does not require pre-booking like the Red Cross service does. Currently, this service is being discontinued by the incumbent operator. The on-demand accessible taxi provides approximately 1,200 riders per year (5 year average) within the Town of Collingwood.

Area Services

Currently, the Town of Wasaga Beach does not have an accessible service which operates within their municipality. The Town of the Wasaga Beach is currently working with the County of Simcoe to have service delivered through the County LINX+ service.

Proposed Service

The Town is currently exploring options for a single operator to provide both services, either separately or simultaneously, to deliver the same level of accessible transit within the municipality. The Town would provide the vehicles for this service and it would be the responsibility of the operator to insure and maintain the vehicles as part of the overall contract cost. The vehicles to be provided are a 2017 Dodge Promaster, and a 2019 Chevrolet Express Cutaway Bus. The service would be required to offer pre-booked appointments and on demand (1 Hour service) transport.

If the Town determines that there is a strong market presence for providers of this service, next steps would include a formal bid process to procure an operator for accessible transportation. The anticipated length of the contract would be 18 months. If the Town of Collingwood is satisfied with the level of service and the operational capability of the successful proponent, the Town may consider extending the initial 18 month contract for a period up to five (5) years.

2.0 Information Requested

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit information from operators that would be interested in providing this service within the Town of Collingwood.

2.1 The objective of the RFI is to obtain information about:

• Current service providers available & potential service solutions,
• Technology based booking and service delivery models,
• Implementation, operation, maintenance, and customer service, and
• Pricing model and costs for budgetary purposes.

2.2 Accessible Transportation Services Solution

2.2.1 Ideally the accessible transportation services solution would include the following:

• Provide accessible transportation for clients through booked appointment (allows for advanced scheduling, useful for recurring or set appointments). This needs to operate 7 days a week, during the hours of 6:00am-9:00pm. This service should be able to provide pre-booked service within two weeks (14 days).
• Provide accessible on demand (within 1 hour) service for clients. This service should operate 7 days a week and offer extended hours 6am- midnight.
• Allow a client access portal via telephone and internet/mobile for booking purposes.
• Ensure fares to match Collingwood’s conventional transit and licensed taxi fares in compliance with AODA standards and Town of Collingwood By-Laws.
• Consideration of opportunity to provide accessible service to the neighbouring municipalities of Wasaga Beach and Town of the Blue Mountains. If there would be any restrictions or limitations associated with these municipalities, these should be identified.

2.2.2 Submission information should include:

• Corporate information including a brief description of the respondent, its knowledge, skill and expertise in the provision of accessible transit services,
• Experience in providing accessible transit services for Ontario municipalities currently or within the last 10 years (a description of services of a similar nature).
• A basic outline of a service delivery plan (eg. facilities/vehicle parking, staffing levels, maintenance facility)
• An outline of any additional equipment/vehicles the operator may have to compliment the equipment to be provided by the Town.
• Summary of proposed maintenance and preventative maintenance plans for the vehicles to be provided by the Town.
• Pricing model to detail costs for administration of the service, operation, maintenance, and estimated revenue. These costs should be separated for each type of service, and by municipality.
• Details on the client access portal to be provided to allow for telephone and internet/mobile booking.
• Confirmation of the ability to obtain insurance to meet the following requirements:

- At minimum $5,000,000 commercial general liability

-At minimum $2,000,000 standard auto and non-owned auto liability insurance

3.0 Submission Instructions

3.1 RFI Contact and Bidders’ Questions

3.1.1 RFI Contact

For the purposes of this procurement process, all communications in relation to this RFI must be made to the RFI contact through the Bidding system at Biddingo.com, unless specifically instructed with the RFI document.

Post-bid closing communications in relation to this RFI may be made through purchasing@collingwood.ca:

Bidders and their representatives should not contact any employees, officers, agents, elected or appointed officials or other representatives of the Town, other than the RFI Contact, concerning matters regarding this RFI. Failure to adhere to this rule may result in the disqualification of the bidder and the rejection of the bidder’s bid.

3.1.2 Questions and Clarification

Bidders may ask questions or seek additional information in relation to this RFI through the Bidding System using the “Submit a Question” link associated with this opportunity.

The Town will accept questions only through Biddingo. Questions are to be directed to the RFI representative as identified on Biddingo.

To the extent the Town considers that the answer to a question may assist other respondents in the preparation of their proposals, the Town may share the question and response through the issuance of an addendum. Respondents will not be identified with questions asked. Questions may be reworded to the extend the Town considers appropriate. Please note the Town may not answer questions where the Town does not consider the information requested to be required to prepare a response, or where the answer to the question posed may be found in the RFI.

4.0 RFI Timetable

Issue Date of RFI  -  January 28, 2021

Submission Deadline  -  February 11, 2021

The RFI timetable is tentative only, and may be changed by the Town at any time.

5. Replies to be Submitted at Prescribed Location

Replies MUST be made electronically through the following public portal: www.biddingo.com. The Town of Collingwood relies on Biddingo.com’s electronic advertisement to provide public notice of this business opportunity.

To access the bid form and start your submission, click the Bid Documents / Online Submission. For technical support, please contact Biddingo.com directly at 1-416-756-0955 or via email at ebidding@biddingo.com. Biddingo.com offers free eBidding training sessions. Sign up today at www.biddingo.com/training.

Click HERE for the RFI in PDF format.