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TRANSIT RIDERSHIP SOFTWARE FOR NATIONAL TRANSIT DATABASE (NTD) REPORTING
Last updated by Addendum #1 on Jan 12, 2021 9:16 PM
Request For Proposal
Big Blue Bus
92000, 95891
Project ID: 280
Release Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2020
· Due Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2021 5:00pm
Posted Tuesday, December 15, 2020 4:26pm
All dates & times in Pacific Time
Question & Answer
Questions and clarifications about the project
1. Sample data Dec 29 2020 at 1:38 PM
- Anonymous Dec 29 2020 at 1:38 PMUser information is private
Can sample data that is to be imported from the automatic passenger counters be made available to bidders? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
See sample in addendum 1.
2. Requirements for web based solution Dec 29 2020 at 1:54 PM
- Anonymous Dec 29 2020 at 1:54 PMUser information is private
The General Information says a web based system hosted by the contractor is preferred, but many of the Technical Requirements don't make sense for such a system, such as the requirement that the server must run Microsoft SQL Server or that system must use the Microsoft Windows graphical user interface standards. Can more clarity be provided for which of the Technical and Security requirements apply to different types of solutions? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
Some of the requirements will not apply depending on the solution proposed. The City is looking for a solution that meets the objectives of the scope of work. The City will evaluate based on vendor’s solution.
3. No subject Dec 30 2020 at 5:31 PM
- Anonymous Dec 30 2020 at 5:31 PMUser information is private
Mr. Juan Gutierrez Assistant Administrative Analyst City of Santa Monica, Big Blue Bus 1660 6th St Santa Monica, CA 90401 [email protected] Re RFP - Transit Ridership Software for NTD Reporting Dear Mr. Gutierrez, TransTrack Systems, Inc has reviewed your RFP Transit Ridership Software for NTD Reporting and has the following questions for your consideration and clarification. Page 3 - Project Description / Scope of Work Q. Do you have a projected budget for this project. Page 4 - General Information 1. The system should be compatible with Virtual Servers. Q. What is BBB’s definition of being compatible with Virtual Servers? Q. What needs to be compatible with Virtual Servers? Page 4 The RFP states that BBB has been successful in getting FTA approval for NTD reporting with APC data. Q What was the last report year when this was successful? Q Has BBB used its APC data for reporting UPT, PMT, or both to NTD before? Q. If yes, what was the method for using the APC data to generate annual total UPT and PMT? Q. Was this method of generating annual totals certified by a qualified statistician? Q. If no, how did BBB determine the annual total UPT and PMT for FY2020? Q. What will be the first report year for which BBB will need support for getting FTA approval of using APC data for NTD reporting? Will it be FY2021 or FY2022? Page 5 - Functional Requirements 13. The system must provide reports with the following measures: s. Serviced stops, the percentage of stops on a trip or group of trips with ridership activity t. Vehicle. u. Vehicle Type v. Operator w. Block x. Run y. Garage Q. Please define what you want to see Page 10 – Technical Requirements 10. The system must be able to enable site-specific configuration through user definable codes and parameters. Q. Please elaborate on what you are looking for? Page 11 13. Use file-integrity monitoring or change-detection software on logs to ensure that existing log data cannot be changed without generating alerts (although new data being added should not cause an alert). Q. Please elaborate on what you are referring to? Page 11 14. Deploy a change-detection mechanism (for example, file-integrity monitoring tools) to alert personnel to unauthorized modification (including changes, additions, and deletions) of critical system files, configuration files, or content files; and configure the software to perform critical file comparisons at least weekly. Q. Please elaborate on what you are referring to? Page 11 16. Ensure local admin or any admin accounts are onboarded into City Privilege Access Management solution Q. Please elaborate on what you are referring to? Thank you for your time and consideration. Regards, Stuart Stuart Crust Director Business Development TransTrack Solutions Group 714.609.6017 [email protected] - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
Pg 3 Q. Do you have a projected budget for this project. • There is no projected budget for this project. The best bidder will be considered for award of a contract for the project. Pg 4. Q. What is BBB’s definition of being compatible with Virtual Servers? Q. What needs to be compatible with Virtual Servers? • An example of virtual server compatibility would be VMWare. • The system being provided needs to be compatible with Big Blue Bus virtual servers. Page 4 Q What was the last report year when this was successful? • BBB was approved by NTD to continue using its APC data in 2020. Q Has BBB used its APC data for reporting UPT, PMT, or both to NTD before? • BBB has used APC data for NTD reporting since 2017. Q. If yes, what was the method for using the APC data to generate annual total UPT and PMT? • BBB currently uses APC data and Clever Devices’ RideCheck+ system for NTD reporting of UPT and PMT. Was this method of generating annual totals certified by a qualified statistician? • A statistician was consulted when the APC method of reporting NTD data was first implemented in 2017. Q. What will be the first report year for which BBB will need support for getting FTA approval of using APC data for NTD reporting? Will it be FY2021 or FY2022? • FY2022 will be the initial year we will need support getting FTA approval using APC data for NTD. Page 5 - Functional Requirements Q. Please define what you want to see • Big Blue Bus uses the APC data for a broad variety of inquiries on the functionality and efficiency of the system. Please describe your reporting system and list the reports you offer. Page 10 – Technical Requirements Q. Please elaborate on what you are looking for? • Big Blue Bus needs the opportunity to configure the system based on our business rules, user needs, and possible future changes. Adjustment of the business rules is a critical tool in the reconciliation of manually collected and automated collected data to ensure data integrity. An example of current business rules include setting carryover to equal 0 and balancing Ons to Offs. Page 11. 13. Q. Please elaborate on what you are referring to? • This is referring to ensuring the system is (or will be) configured to prevent log modification. In other words, no one can modify/delete activities noted in the log files. Page 11 14. Q. Please elaborate on what you are referring to? • This is referring to ensuring there is a mechanism in place to prevent unauthorized modification of application code, or files it depends on to function or data needed for legal or retention policy purposes. Page 11 16. Q. Please elaborate on what you are referring to? • This is referring to ensuring that any on premises solution administrator accounts can be onboarded into the City’s Privilege Access Management (PAM) solution.
4. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:37 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:37 AMUser information is private
A. Has BBB been executing Manual Ridechecks in order to generate NTD reports? If so, how is the Manual Ridecheck data collected and processed? Is there an electronic data collection device utilized by BBB Checkers? If so, please provide the supplier of the data collection device. Is there currently software that processes the Manual Ridecheck data? If so, please provide the supplier of the software that processes BBB's Manual Ridecheck data. - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
Manual ride checks are performed for APC recertification purposes, and are performed consistent with the NTD Policy Manual. BBB has used Samsung tablets to perform manual ride checks. BBB currently utilizes Clever Device’s RideCheck+ software to record manual ride checks. Software allows for comparison of manual versus automatic checks for the purposes of periodic reconciliation and audit of the APC data.
5. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:37 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:37 AMUser information is private
B. Page 4, Item 4, there is a requirement that 'no system software needs to be maintained by the City of Santa Monica'. On Page 5 Item 7f, there is reference to 'installation on City servers'. Please reconcile the seemingly inconsistent specifications. - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
Requirement on bullet 7f is only for vendors that are not providing a hosted solution. Not a requirement for those that provide hosted service.
6. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:38 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:38 AMUser information is private
C. Page 5, Item 4, please provide the supplier of the CAD/AVL software that 'BBB is currently in the process of procuring'. - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
BBB currently utilizes Transit Master for CAD/AVL. BBB is currently in the process of procuring a CAD/AVL system.
7. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:38 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:38 AMUser information is private
D. Page 5, Item 4, please provide a definition of 'commonly available CAD/AVL systems'. - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
Commercial, off-the-shelf systems.
8. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:38 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:38 AMUser information is private
E. Page 5, Item 5, please confirm that BBB will accept a more comprehensive and more effective set of business rules for data cleansing. - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
BBB is open to accepting a more comprehensive and more effective set of business rules for data cleansing.
9. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:39 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:39 AMUser information is private
F. Page 5, Item 6, At many transit agencies, homeless people are allowed to remain on-board through the End-Of-Line (EOL) layover. What is BBB's policy on allowing homeless people to remain on-board thru EOL layovers? is operational practice consistent with BBB's policy? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
BBB’s policy requires all passengers to exit buses at the End-Of-Line. Reconciliation of manually collected data with APC collected data in FY2019 made apparent that the operational practice regarding end of line was consistent with BBB policy.
10. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:39 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:39 AMUser information is private
G. Page 6, Item 9, Reference is made to 'the relational database'. Please provide BBB's standard database. - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
Microsoft SQL Server
11. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:40 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:40 AMUser information is private
H. Page 7, Item 14, Would BBB also want the NTD variables, Revenue Miles and Revenue Hours to be included along with UPT and PMT? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
BBB is open to receiving proposals that include NTD-reportable Revenue Miles and Revenue Hours along with UPT and PMT. Please describe your methodology on aggregating and reporting revenue miles and revenue hours.
12. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:40 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:40 AMUser information is private
I. Of BBB's 188 APC-equipped buses, what percentage of the 188 APC-equipped buses generate satisfactory APC data each day? Is APC data from all 188 APC-equipped buses downloaded each day? If not, what percentage of BBB's APC-equipped buses transfer APC data each day? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
The systemwide discard rate for FY 2018-19 was 14.2 percent. BBB downloads all data of buses that were in operation that day. On a normal day, approximately 20% of buses do not go out and data is not collected.
13. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:40 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:40 AMUser information is private
J. If information relative to the CAD/AVL system is needed, would BBB prefer the software supplier submit questions through BBB or contact the CAD/AVL supplier directly? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
The CAD/AVL vendor (ie. Trapeze) should be contacted directly for questions regarding their systems.
14. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:42 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:42 AMUser information is private
K. Does the City of Santa Monica have a preference for a software system hosted by the Contractor? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
The City of Santa Monica prefers a contractor hosted or cloud-hosted system.
15. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:42 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:42 AMUser information is private
L. Regarding the ability to 'enable/disable business rules for data cleaning', - does the City prefer this feature to be an interactive component of APC reporting (for all users to modify), or only accessible to City Administrative users? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
BBB prefers to only have this feature accessible to City Administrative users.
16. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:42 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:42 AMUser information is private
M. If SQL queries are generated dynamically through a Web Reporting portal, does City staff need the actual SQL statements generated to be 'stored for later use'? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
We don’t need the SQL statements. We need the reports and ability to save reports
17. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:43 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:43 AMUser information is private
N. Page 5 Item 4 - Is BBB able to provide a daily upload of yesterday's Transit Master APC data to a vendor's cloud Server (Or would it be weekly, monthly or some other time increment?) - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
We upload daily but the prior day’s data may not be available for a variety of reasons on certain buses. As a practice, we don’t process the data until 5 days after each day occurs to ensure we have uploaded all data for that date.
18. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:43 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:43 AMUser information is private
O. Page 6 Item 7 - Should the ability to enable business rules be available to all users on the standard platform provided by the vendor (this could potentially produce inconsistent results depending on how different users engaged different business rules) or should the ability to enable and adjust business rules be only permissible for a single admin user? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
BBB prefers to only have this feature accessible to City Administrative users.
19. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:43 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:43 AMUser information is private
P. Page 7 Item 14 - Is BBB currently approved by FTA for use of the APC system for NTD reporting? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
Yes, BBB is currently approved by FTA for use of the APC system for NTD reporting.
20. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:43 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:43 AMUser information is private
Q. Page 7 Item 15 - FTA no longer requires a random sampling of trips for APC certification or APC reporting if an Alternative Sampling Plan is in place. Is this requirement of producing a random sample of trips to be surveyed still active? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
Yes, BBB intends to continue using the random sampling of trips for APC certification.
21. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:43 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:43 AMUser information is private
R. Page 9 Item 24 - Does the requirement of "filtered data sets accessible to common file formats (such as Access, PDF, Excel and text)" also apply to unfiltered data sets? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
No
22. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:44 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:44 AMUser information is private
S. Page 9 Item 7 - If the proposed system is a vendor-hosted application, does the system administrator who manages users access have to be a BBB staff member or can it be a vendor staff member? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
BBB has no preference over who manages user access.
23. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:44 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:44 AMUser information is private
T. Page 10 Item 10 - If the proposed system is a vendor-hosted application does a BBB need to be able to do system configuration updates for BBB specific modifications or can updates to definable codes and parameters be requested by BBB staff and executed by vendor staff? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
By vendor staff
24. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:44 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:44 AMUser information is private
U. Page 11 Item 16 - In a vendor hosted environment is the City Privilege Access Management Solution applicable? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
Not needed if vendor-hosted.
25. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:45 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:45 AMUser information is private
V. Page 11 Item 18 - In a vendor hosted environment is the import of logs into the City's Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) applicable? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
This only applies to a system hosted on-site, not a vendor hosted system.
26. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:45 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:45 AMUser information is private
W. Page 11 Item 21 - In a vendor hosted environment is integration to BBB AD/LDAP applicable? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
Preferred to use ADFS integration
27. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:46 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:46 AMUser information is private
X. With BBB having APC's as an element of the TransitMaster CAD/AVL system for many years, please provide a summary of the efforts made to generate NTD reports from the APC data generated from the TransitMaster CAD/AVL/APC system. Have previous contracts been awarded to firms for provision of Ridership Reporting software? if so, please provide the names of the firms awarded the contracts. - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
BBBs initial attempt to process APC data used Trapeze Plan software. That effort did not result in the use of the APC data for NTD reporting. BBB currently uses Clever Devices’ RideCheck+ system for NTD reporting.
28. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:46 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:46 AMUser information is private
Y. Would BBB want APC data to be integrated with Farebox data? If so, please describe the Farebox system present on BBB buses. - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
No. BBB is involved in an effort to unify fare collection in all agencies of Los Angeles County. For that reason, it is not practical to integrate with the farebox at this time.
29. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:46 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:46 AMUser information is private
Z. Please provide the number of staff on the proposal evaluation committee and the departments represented on the evaluation committee. - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
The evaluation committee has not been finalized but the intention is to comprise it of the City’s BBB staff, four to six members.
30. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:47 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:47 AMUser information is private
AA. On page 4, BBB's Planning and Performance Division is managing this procurement and, presumably, is the primary user of the software being procured. However, many of the technical and security requirements appear to standard IT specifications. Please describe the role of BBB IT and/or the City of Santa Monica IT in the initial installation and operation of the requested software, particularly if the Transit Ridership Software for NTD Reporting will be on a cloud-hosted platform with web-based reporting. - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
The City’s Information Services Department (ISD) will coordinate with the vendor and BBB staff on the system implementation. ISD would ensure that the system regularly receives APC data.
31. No subject Dec 31 2020 at 6:47 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 6:47 AMUser information is private
BB. How can the supplier of Transit Ridership Software for NTD Reporting be confident that the AVL/APC data is accurate? Please describe BBB's methodology for assuring accurate time, location, and passenger count information being generated from BBB's CAD/AVL/APC system. Would BBB be receptive to additional methodologies for AVL/APC accuracy evaluation being included in the proposal for Transit Ridership Software for NTD Reporting? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
BBB has used APC data for NTD reporting since it was approved by FTA in 2017. BBB is open to proposals that include additional methodologies for AVL/APC accuracy evaluation. Currently, on a bi-weekly basis, we check buses reporting inconsistent APC data and report to Maintenance when significant issues with APCs are found.
32. Bonding Dec 31 2020 at 8:02 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 8:02 AMUser information is private
Page 13: The RFP mentions a Payment Bond. Can BBB please confirm that bonding is not required for this procurement? a. If bonding is applicable to this RFP, can you please specify the percentage required for the payment bond? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
Payment bond is not required.
33. Taxes Dec 31 2020 at 8:02 AM
- Anonymous Dec 31 2020 at 8:02 AMUser information is private
Can BBB please confirm that pricing proposals are not to include any taxes? - Jan 12 2021 at 1:44 PMCity of Santa Monica
For evaluation purposes do not include tax, however the City is not tax exempt and subject to 10.25% tax.