REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL March 19, 2020 FROM: GREGORY A. BARFIELD, Director Department of Transportation BY: BRIAN BARR, Assistant Director Department of Transportation ORIE J. RUBALCAVA, Senior Management Analyst Department of Transportation SUBJECT ..Title Reject all bids for a Bus Rapid Transit shelter purchase contract and direct staff to rebid (Bid File 3723) ..Body RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends Council reject all bids received January 28, 2020, for purchase of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) shelters and direct staff to rebid. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Department of Transportation, FAX Division launched BRT Route 1 service in February, 2018. The BRT route consists of 52 bus stations along the Blackstone and Kings Canyon/Ventura corridor. Each station is outfitted with custom bus shelters, amenities, security cameras, ticket vending machines, and communication equipment. FAX seeks to procure and store spare BRT shelters to facilitate the replacement of amenities in the event of catastrophic damage, such as a vehicle collision. FAX received two bids in response to the solicitation, one bid was found both responsive and responsible. However, the bid is 48 percent greater than originally estimated for this procurement. As a result, staff recommends Council reject all bids. Staff will adjust the requirements of the solicitation to encourage additional competition. BACKGROUND FAX launched BRT Route 1 service in February, 2018, consisting of 52 bus stations along the Blackstone and Kings Canyon/Ventura corridor. Each BRT station includes custom bus shelters, passenger amenities, security cameras, ticket vending machines, and communication equipment. Since launch of the new service, there have been two separate instances of vehicle collisions with the BRT station. The first incident severally damaged a ticket vending machine and the second incident damaged a communication cabinet and "Q" logo icon/map case. FAX seeks to procure and store spare BRT shelters to facilitate the replacement of amenities in the event of further damage to the stations. Bids were solicited for this project on December 20, 2019, and advertised in the Fresno Business Journal. The Notice Inviting Bids was sent to eight building exchanges and specifications were distributed to ten potential bidders. The bids were publicly opened on January 28, 2020. FAX received two bids in response to the solicitation; one was determined to be both responsive and responsible. However, the bid is 48 percent greater than estimated for this procurement. With the proposed cost being over the budgeted amount, staff recommends Council reject all bids. FAX will rebid and reconsider the solicitation requirements to increase the likelihood for greater competition. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDING By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378 the award of this contract does not qualify as a project; therefore, it is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act requirements. LOCAL PREFERENCE Local preference not applicable as this action is not recommending award of a contract. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact to the General Fund from this action. Attachment: Bid Evaluation 3723