TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Michael A. Hursh, General Manager
SUBJECT: Transit Signal Priority Bus System Sole-Source Procurement
ACTION ITEM
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider authorizing the General Manager to execute a sole-source purchase of bus equipment and other related signal communication hardware made by Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) for its GPS-based Transit Signal Priority.
Body
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
The planned purchase is for approximately $2,650,000 and is funded by a combination of federal, local, and District funds. Funding for the purchase of Transit Signal Priority (TSP) equipment is included in current project budgets, including the Rapid Corridors Projects on Telegraph and San Pablo, the Dumbarton Bridge Corridor Project, and various bus purchase projects. The estimated amount of District Capital funding that will be used for this purchase is $170,000.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
AC Transit currently uses GTT’s GPS-based TSP equipment on many corridors. Specifically (without this proposed purchase), the District is using or has installed GTT’s GPS-based TSP equipment on 290 buses and at 280 intersections within the District, including the East Bay Bus Rapid Transit project. Previous Board actions detailed in Staff Reports 15-157 and 15-157a discuss the other sole-source purchases of GTT’s GPS-based TSP equipment. This current purchase will enable the District to upgrade TSP equipment for the Rapid Corridors Projects (Telegraph and San Pablo), Dumbarton Bridge Corridor Project, a gap closure for the Interstate 80 Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) project, and the buses necessary to serve these corridors. This purchase would represent roughly 190 more signalized intersections and 235 more buses, resulting in 83% of the District’s fleet equipped with TSP capabilities.
Sole Source Rationale
Compatibility: The GTT GPS-based TSP system has advanced proprietary software that is not available anywhere else on the market and, therefore, does not allow for detailed comparative advantage benchmarking, value-added reselling or competitive bidding. This TSP system is already used on AC Transit buses and on Lines 51, 97, East Bay Bus Rapid Transit, as well as pojects by other agencies, including the Interstate 80 ICM Project and the Citywide TSP implementation in the City of Hayward.
Purchasing and installing a non-GTT TSP system through a competitive procurement process could result in hardware which would not be comaptible with the existing TSP equipment and would render the existing TSP components useless. This would result in loss value of the existing equipment, and additional unfunded duplicative costs to replace the existing on-street components with a different system. The GTT GPS-based TSP system purchase is essential to match existing on-street and bus infrastrucuture.
GTT’s TSP system is unique and innovative in that it is the only TSP product on the market today that can independently (CAD/AVL system not required) establish its location and request TSP from the signalized intersection at a rate of up to three times per second against a schedule or headway-based operation. It also requires no further encroachment or additional equipment space within existing signal cabinets as the system just replaces an already existing phase selector card, which is a requirement by many of the local jurisdictions within the District.
With GTT’s system, priority can be granted based on a headway and/or schedule. This allows the sytem to be more judicious and efficient with TSP requests on traffic signal cycle times, particulary at intersections where the local jurisdictions may not allow use of TSP without this capability.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
As discussed in the report, the primary advantage associated with a sole-source procurement of a GTT GPS-based TSP system for District-wide adoption is compatibility with the existing system and other city-sponsored projects.
Disadvantages:
• Dependency upon one manufacturing vendor to keep future product selection fully compatible, affordable, technologically competitive.
• Non-competitive nature for project technology selection could increase costs.
• As time passes, other TSP systems will develop and could provide greater functionality although they would still not be compatible with existing infrastructure within the District.
Staff will work closely with GTT and partner jurisdictions to minimize the impacts of these potential disadvantages.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
As an alternative, staff could enter an open procurement solicitation for an alternative District TSP system. This would reveal that there is only one product that would meet the system requirements and be completely compatible with existing TSP on-street infrastructure based on staff’s current product and market availability research. In addition, the time required for an open procurement would significantly delay completion of the current projects that require TSP installations, resulting in higher costs for those projects and possible loss of grant funding.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
SR 15-157 - Global Traffic Technologies Transit Signal Priority System Sole Source Purchase
SR 15-157a - Transit Signal Priority System Purchase Contract Amendment
SR 18-138a - Rapid Corridors Project Design and Construction Management Service
SR 19-015 - W. Grand Avenue Transit Signal Priority (TSP) Implementation and Evaluation Project
SR 18-327 - Dumbarton Bridge Corridor Project
Board Policy 465 - Procurement Policy
ATTACHMENTS:
None
Approved by:
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Reviewed by:
Denise C. Standridge, General Counsel
Claudia L. Allen, Chief Financial Officer
Ahsan Baig, Chief Information Officer
Robert del Rosario, Director of Services Development and Planning
Gene Clark, Director of Procurement and Materials
Chris Andrichak, Director of Management and Budget
Jim Cunradi, Transportation Planning Manager
Evelyn Ng, Capital Planning and Grants Manager
Prepared by:
Mika Miyasato, Senior Transportation Planner
Wil Buller, Traffic Engineer