Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
156 A P P E N D I X C Survey Questionnaire TCRP Synthesis J-07, Topic SG-14 ADA Paratransit Service Delivery Models Project Purpose: As ADA paratransit demand continues to grow and while resources are dwindling, transit agencies nationwide have implemented small to wholesale changes to their service models in order to more effectively meet present and future demand. And in the case of larger ADA paratransit systems where the use of contractors â for service delivery and call and control center functions â is more prevalent, such changes have also brought about alternative ways in which contractors are used, procured and paid. The objective of this synthesis is (1) to document, for a comprehensive set of service models, the way various elements of ADA paratransit service and contracts are structured; and (2) to document how these structures have been used to help a transit agency achieve its desired balance between cost efficiency and service quality. Section 1: Contact Information Agency/Organization: Service Name: City: State: Date: Name: Title: E-Mail: Phone: What is your role in the agency or organization as it relates to the ADA paratransit service? Section 2: Context Government Structure: â« Agency/organization is a local or regional public transit agency â« Agency/organization is a division/department of a city/county â« Agency/organization is a private, for-profit organization under contract to and funded by a transit agency or department â« Agency/organization is a private, non-profit organization under contract to and funded by a transit agency or department â« Other:
Survey Questionnaire 157 Funding Structure: The following funding supports the ADA paratransit service (check all that apply) â« FTA 5307 funding â« FTA 5311 funding â« FTA â other: â« Local, county and/or state funding â« Human service agency or agencies â« Other: Other Modes Provided: â« Fixed-route local bus service â« Flex transit (e.g. demand-responsive point or route deviation) â« Commuter/Express bus â« Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) â« Commuter rail, â« Light rail, â« Subway/heavy rail â« Other _________________ ADA Paratransit service area: square miles Population: Paratransit Service Types and Ridership (check all that apply) Ridership (all pax) FY 15 or CY16 â« ADA paratransit only _______ _______ â« Senior transportation _______ _______ â« Medicaid NEMT _______ _______ â« Other human service transportation _______ _______ â« General public transportation _______ _______ Are other paratransit trips co-mingled with ADA paratransit trips? â« Yes â« No â« N/A Do you also provide any of the following for your ADA paratransit customers? â« Service is provided beyond three-quarter mile fixed-route corridors â« New same day trips are treated the same as advance trips â« New same day trips are accommodated on a space-available basis only â« Reservations hours are extended beyond normal business hours Do you also provide any taxi or TNC subsidy programs as an alternative service for ADA paratransit customers? â« Yes â« No Notes:
158 ADA Paratransit Service Models Section 3: Service Model ADA Paratransit - Division of Responsibilities and Provision of Assets. Please mark with an X in the appropriate cells, what entity performs each function. Note: If more than one entity shares in a given responsibility or asset, please describe the split below. Functional Areas Function Agency Admin. Broker Oper. Broker Call (and Control) Contractor Eligibility. Contractor 1 dedicated service provider contractor 2 or more dedicated service provider contractors NDSP broker or brokers NDSP taxis or other Other Oversight/QA Contracting Eligibility Res/Booking Scheduling Radio Dispatching Window Dispatching Service Delivery Trip Reconciliation Road Supervision Training Fleet maint Please clarify split/shared responsibilities:
Survey Questionnaire 159 Provision of Assets Agency Admin. Broker Oper. Broker Call (and Control) Contractor Eligibility. Contractor 1 dedicated service provider contractor 2 or more Dedicated service provider contractors NDSP broker or brokers NDSP taxis or other Other Eligibility Facility Call Center Facility Operations Facilities Maintenance Facilities Vehicles Scheduling Software Scheduling Hardware Telephone System IVR Radio base station In-Vehicle Equipment Please clarify split/shared responsibilities: Assets â« No, we deliver ADA paratransit ourselves Service Area Organization for Service Models with Multiple Contractors Operating Dedicated Fleets Does your agency contract with multiple contractors providing dedicated ADA paratransit service? â« No, we contract with only one dedicated contractor to deliver ADA paratransit â« Yes, we contract with multiple dedicated contractors to deliver ADA paratransit. (Skip this section if you only have one contractor operating a fleet of vehicles dedicated to ADA paratransit.)
160 ADA Paratransit Service Models If your service model includes two or more dedicated service providers (exclusive of non- dedicated taxi providers), how many dedicated service providers deliver ADA paratransit service? ________ What % of trips is served by each? _______% _______% _______% If the transit agency, call (and control) center manager or broker performs scheduling centrally: How is your service area organized? (check all that apply) â« No zones; service providers are provided trips based on contracted volume of work (number of service hours or runs); indicate split: â« No zones; service providers are provided trips based on day and/or time of day â« No zones; service providers are contracted based on the type of trip or vehicle operated, e.g., customers requiring an accessible vehicle are directed to call a specific provider, while other customers are directed to call another provider â« Area is split into ___ zones with one service provider assigned to each zone â« Area is split into ___ zones with more than one service provider assigned to each zone â« Dedicated fleets are operated out of _____ operations/maintenance facilities â« Other: Notes: If scheduling and dispatching is performed by the service providers, how is the service area organized? (check all that apply) â« Area is split into ___ zones with one service provider assigned to each zone; customers call or are routed to service provider based on residence zone or current location â« Area is split into ___ zones with more than one service provider assigned to each zone; customers may call any of the providers assigned to the origin zone â« Transfers are/may be required for certain or all inter-zone trips; if some transfers are required, indicate for which trips: â« Dedicated fleets are operated out of _____ operations/maintenance facilities Section 4: Organization/Performance of Call (and Control) Center Functions Functions that are performed by reservations or booking agents (check all that apply) â« Booking advance reservations (up to ____ days in advance) â« Trip time negotiation â« If software yields no suggestions â« If reservations exceed a certain hourly capacity â« Booking same day requests â« On a space-available basis only â« Trip cancellations â« Trip confirmations
Survey Questionnaire 161 â« Scheduling trip requests on runs â« Reservation agents usually select the first suggestion â« Reservation agents look at alternative trip insertion suggestions before trip is scheduling onto a specific run â« Handling whereâs my ride? calls and other same day issues â« Responding to requests for general information â« IVR system enables customers to confirm/cancel trips on-line â« IVR system enables customers to book advance reservations on-line Functions that are performed by schedulers (check all that apply) â« Run construction / periodic adjustment of run start and end times â« Scheduling/maintenance of subscription trips onto master templates â« Subscription trips are scheduled onto runs â« One end (time point) of a subscription trip is anchored â« Subscription trips are batch scheduled with demand trips â« Schedulers schedule concurrent trips with common destinations before other trips â« Schedulers schedule trips requiring accessible vehicles before other trips â« Most of the initial (re)scheduling of trips by the schedulers is done on the day before the trip date and performed one trip at a time, possibly followed by one or more batch scheduling or optimization processes to schedule as many unassigned trips as possible â« Batch scheduling is the primary method used by schedulers to (re)schedule trips â this begins a few days in advance, other optimization processes and one-by-one trip scheduling is then used to fine-tune the runs and to schedule as many unassigned trips as possible â« Batch scheduling is the primary method used by schedulers to (re)schedule trips â this begins the day before the trip; other optimization processes and one-by-one trip scheduling is then used to fine-tune the runs and to schedule as many unassigned trips as possible Number of schedulers and runs how they split up the work: Number / number range of unscheduled trips left for evening before or day of trip morning dispatcher to schedule. (E.g. 100-300 trips)? _________ to _________ Who is responsible for setting/adjusting the scheduling parameters of the software? How do work rules of the collective bargaining agreement provisions impact run construction and/or driver assignments?
162 ADA Paratransit Service Models Functions are performed by radio dispatchers? (check all that apply) â« Radio dispatching and no-shows Who calls customers in the event of a no-show? _________________ â« Handling whereâs my ride calls and other same day issues? Who fields the calls from the customers? _______________________ â« If reservation agents field the whereâs my ride/ETA calls, do they have access to ETA information from the dispatching and/or the actual vehicle location or both? ________________ What is the ratio of dispatchers to vehicles in service during peak periods and off-peak periods? (e.g. 1 dispatcher : vehicle runs) Peak Period____________________________________________________________ Off Peak Period_________________________________________________________ Number of dispatchers and vehicles how they split up the work: Section 5: Vehicles, Communications, and Technology Dedicated Fleets Operator Vehicle Types Transit Agency Broker or CC Mgr Contractor #1 Contractor #2 Contractor #3 Not Accessible - Sedans - Minivans - Vans <15 pax - Minibuses <22 pax - Buses 22 pax Accessible - Minivans - Raised Roof Vans - Body-on Chassis - Buses 22 pax Total Supporting Technology Reservation/scheduling/dispatching software â« Yes OR â« No Dynamic scheduling (day-of; 2+ hours in advance) â« Yes OR â« No On-Board Equipment AVL (including GPS and other) â« Yes OR â« No MDTs/MDCs â« Yes OR â« No Security Cameras â« Yes OR â« No Navigational Assistance â« Yes OR â« No
Survey Questionnaire 163 Customer Support IVR â Booking advance trip reservations â« Yes OR â« No IVR â Trip confirmations â« Yes OR â« No IVR â Trip cancellations â« Yes OR â« No IVR IVR â Day-before confirmation calls â« Yes OR â« No â Imminent-arrival calls or texts â« Yes OR â« No Customer app (access to vehicle location / arrival time) â« Yes OR â« No Cashless systems - Centralized fare account â« Yes OR â« No Cashless systems â Fare card â« Yes OR â« No API Links to Taxi Dispatch Systems â« Yes OR â« No Section 6. Use of Non-Dedicated Service Providers (e.g., Taxis) for ADA Paratransit Trips (Note: The following questions specifically refer to the use of non-dedicated taxis for transportation of ADA paratransit trips and not the use of dedicated taxi runs or the use of taxis as an alternative service for ADA paratransit customers). Do the schedulers and/or dispatchers use non-dedicated taxis for the transportation of ADA paratransit trips? â« Yes â« No If yes, please answer the following questions What is the percentage of total trips that are assigned to non-dedicated taxis? _______% Is your ability to assign trips to non-dedicated service providers limited by their capacity? â« Yes â« No What types of trips are generally assigned to taxis? (check all that apply) â« Peak period overflow trips â« Long, out of the way trips â« Trips in low-demand times â« Trips in low-demand areas â« Re-emerging no-shows â« Breakdowns/accidents â« All trips we canât fit onto our dedicated runs â« Short trips, in order to minimize NDSP costs â« Other: Do any of the taxi companies/associations have accessible taxicabs? â« Yes â« No How many taxi companies or associations are used for ADA paratransit trips? _______ What entity contracts with the taxi companies or associations for the provision of ADA paratransit service? â« Transit agency â« Call (and Control) Center Contractor â« Broker â« Service provider contractors Is there a subset of taxi drivers and taxicabs who are âcertifiedâ to serve ADA paratransit trips i.e., based on completing specific training, voluntarily agreeing to background checks, drug and alcohol testing, etc.)? â« Yes â« No
164 ADA Paratransit Service Models Are the driver training requirements for taxi drivers the same as for the drivers of the dedicated fleets? â« Yes â« No Are the background checks for taxi drivers the same as for the drivers of the dedicated fleets? â« Yes â« No Are taxi drivers required to be part of the same drug and alcohol testing requirements as the drivers of the dedicated fleets? â« Yes â« No Are the taxicab vehicles used for ADA paratransit trips insured to the same level of coverage as the vehicles in the dedicated fleet? â« Yes â« No Do you require that taxi vehicles used for ADA paratransit trips are maintained according to transit agency-specified standard? â« Yes â« No Do you have staff that is responsible for monitoring all of the elements of âcertificationâ? â« Yes â« No Section 7: Contractor Procurement and Payment Strategy Do you contract out any part of your ADA paratransit service operation? Contractors may be used for call center operations, scheduling, or service delivery, or other aspects. â« Yes â« No If yes, please answer the following. If no please skip ahead to Section 9: Policies, Service Performance and Costs Statistics How do you procure your call center, broker, or service provider contractor(s)? (check all that apply) â« Use an RFP or if not an RFP, use a ____________ _ â« Pre-qualify proposers and the select low-bidder â« Best value â score technical proposals then analyze/score cost proposals Cost generally reflects ______% of the total score â« Include risk/liability as part of the technical and/or cost score â« Our preference is to contract with only one dedicated service provider contractor â« Our preference is to contract with multiple dedicated service providers: â« serving trips from distinct zones â« serving trips on different days or at different times â« serving different types of trips (operating sedans vs. accessible vehicles) â« serving trips based on when the trip was booked (advanced vs. same day) â« serving trips based on a pre-set volume of work, based on: â« trips â« total service hours â« RVHs â« total dollar amount
Survey Questionnaire 165 â« Allow a proposer to (also) submit a proposal (or an option) to serve a combined pair or set of zones or combined pieces of work â« Proposed rates (see next page) are supported by detailed line-item costing per contract year (that roll-up to fixed vs. variable costs if paid differently) â« Spreadsheet is provided to proposers (with automatic roll-ups and formulas) â« Proposed rates (see next page) are not supported by line-item costing per year Contract Term Base/Option â« Contract term for broker? ____/____ â« Call (and Control) Center contractor? ____/____ â« Service provider contractor? ____/____ Are contract terms staggered? If yes, please explain. Involvement of Unions / Provision of CBA Information (check all that apply) Do you provide in the RFP any guidance about relevant unions? â« Yes â« No Do you provide any relevant CBAs (or portions thereof) to prospective providers, with the procurement documents? â« Yes â« No Wage and Benefits (check all that apply) Do you require proposers to provide in their proposal the starting and/or average wage rates per position for all contract years (including the mobilization period)? â« Yes â« No Do you impose a required minimum wage rate? â« Yes â« No When choosing multiple contractors or contractors for zones or pieces of work, what best describes the process of contracting? (check all that apply) â« Allow a proposer to submit a proposal for more than one zone or distinct piece of work Do you require proposers to provide in their proposal detailed information about health benefits and other fringe benefits? â« Yes â« No For health benefits, do you require proposers to provide in their proposal detailed information about different options and the employee contribution? â« Yes â« No Contracting for Non-Dedicated Service If you are also contracting for non-dedicated service, do you have separate procurement documents? â« Yes â« No If you are also contracting for non-dedicated service, do you allow the same proposer to bid on both dedicated and non-dedicated service (or to include a subcontractor that provides non-dedicated service)? â« Yes â« No
166 ADA Paratransit Service Models Payment Structures For contracts with the dedicated service provider contractor(s) held by the transit agency or broker, what is the basis of payment? (check all that apply) â« Lump sum or a not-to-exceed number of service hours or RVHs â« Per customer trip served (completed) â« Per passenger trip served (completed, including companions or PCAs) â« Per Revenue Vehicle Hour (RVH) (first pickup to last drop-off less scheduled breaks) â« Per service hour (gate to gate) â« Fixed costs paid separately from variable costs and split into equal monthly payments â« Fuel costs are included in total or variable costs rate â« Fuel costs are reimbursed separately â« Service provider contract has incentives and liquidated damages tied to: How often are the incentives and liquidated damages exercised? For turn-key service contracts (all or most functions): â« Administrative and call center costs are included in unit rate (or in fixed cost rate and variable cost rate, if split) â« Administrative and call center costs are treated as a fixed cost only â« Administrative and call center costs are paid based on a negotiated budget â« N/A If you have a call (and control) center manager contract, what is the basis of payment? (check all that apply) â« Lump sum â« Per customer trip requested/booked â« Per customer trip served (completed) â« Per call â« Per negotiated annual budget â« Fixed costs are paid for separately from variable costs and are split into equal monthly payments â« N/A â« Contract has incentives and liquidated damages tied to: How often are the incentives and liquidated damages exercised? If you have a broker contract, what is the basis of payment? (check all that apply) â« Lump sum â« Per customer trip requested/booked
Survey Questionnaire 167 â« Per customer trip served (completed) â« Per negotiated annual budget with provider costs are passed though â« Fixed costs are paid for separately from variable costs and are split into equal monthly payments â« N/A â« Broker contract has incentives and liquidated damages tied to: How often are the incentives and liquidated damages exercised? What is the basis of payment to the non-dedicated service provider? (check all that apply) â« Contractual rate based on a negotiated flat rate of $_______ per trip â« Reimbursement based on each meter fare â« Rate of each trip pre-calculated using GIS mileage based on a negotiated rate â« Reimbursement based on zone rate matrix â« Rate includes driver tip or equivalent â« Driver collects service fare â« N/A How are mobilization costs reimbursed? (check all that apply) â« Reimbursement based on proposed mobilization costs â« Reimbursement based on actual time and materials (with a not-to-exceed amount) â« Reimbursed monthly during the mobilization period â« Reimbursed after mobilization period (on the first invoice after service has begun) â« Reimbursed as a fixed cost paid in equal monthly payment over Year 1 â« Reimbursed as a fixed cost paid in equal monthly payment over the base contract term â« N/A Treatment of Assets / Amortization Period /Lease Assignments (check all that apply) All capital costs incurred by contractor are amortized over â« Base contract term? â« Base plus option year(s)? â« After contractor is fully reimbursed for capital assets, transit agency has the option to assume ownership of assets â« If contractis prematurely terminated or not renewed, contractor is required to transfer any leases to the transit agency, if requested by the transit agency
168 ADA Paratransit Service Models Closing/Asset Transition Issues What is the procedure for transferring transit agency assets from one contractor to another? Section 8: Contract Oversight How many staff (express as FTEs) are dedicated to management/oversight of contractor(s)? FTEs Function / Frequency â« Dedicated service ____ provider contractor(s) ____ ____ ____ ____ â« Non-dedicated service ____ provider contractor(s) ____ ____ ____ ____ â« Call center contractor ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ â« Brokerage contractor ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Do you retain an auditor to audit the contractorsâ records? â« Yes â« No How often? ________________ Do you retain a third-party inspector to assess any of the following? (check all that apply) â« Safety and security â« Fleet maintenance â« Service quality/performance and overall contract compliance
Survey Questionnaire 169 How is the reporting function handled for daily, monthly, yearly and ad-hoc reports? Who has responsibility for collecting data and how often is it reported? What key performance indicators (KPI) are monitored and which tie into contractual incentives and liquidated damages? (For each KPI, provide any standards, any incentive/penalty amounts and associated triggers) How are regular and ad-hoc communications with the contractor(s) handled? Frequency? How are disputes with the contractor(s) handled? Section 9: Policies, Service Performance and Cost Statistics For CY 2016 or FY 2016 (circle as appropriate) Actual Service Standard Incentive/Penalty Trigger OTP%: % % % % % %No-show rate: % % Missed trip rate % % % % Excessively long trips % % % % Productivity: Complaint frequency ratio: Call hold time: Other: How is your pick-up window defined? Are customers quoted a confirmed pick-up time or pick-up window? How is an on-time trip defined? How is a late trip defined? How is a missed trip defined? How is an excessively long trip defined?
170 ADA Paratransit Service Models How is productivity defined, e.g., total passengers or customer trips / RVHs or service hours? How is complaint frequency ratio defined, e.g., # of complaints / ______________ passengers or customer trips? Number of revenue service hours (for the dedicated fleet(s) only): Total Operating Cost $_______________________ Operating cost (dedicated fleets only): $ Operating cost per RVH (dedicated): $ Operating cost (non-dedicated fleets only): $ Operating cost per RVH (non-dedicated): $ Operating cost per passenger: $ Operating cost per customer trip: $ Section 10: Observations and Perceptions What do you think are the major benefits of your current service model and/or contract(s)? Check all that apply â« Creates cost efficiency by fostering competition â« Creates cost efficiency through economies of scale â« Enhances control over service quality â« Enhances control over productivity/cost â« Enhances flexibility to respond to service quality issues â« Helps manage demand and encourage use of alternatives â« Minimizes risk for transit agency? â« Minimizes risk for contractor(s)? â« Other or Comments: What do you think are the major challenges inherent in your current service model and/or contract(s)? Check all that apply? â« Costly â« Indirect or poor control over service quality â« Very rigid; difficult â or takes a long time -- to implement needed changes â« Eliminates options â« Does not mitigate risks â« Other or Comments:
Survey Questionnaire 171 Have you recently (within the last 5 years) changed your service model? â« Yes â« No If yes, describe the former service model and how it was different. What were the primary reasons why you have maintained or changed your service model? â« To improve cost efficiency (afford more trips) â« To enhance â and provide more control over -- service quality â« To better control the balance between cost efficiency and service quality â« To better manage demand â« Other: Did you achieve your goal(s)? â« Yes â« No â« N/A Do have any statistics showing the effect of the service model change? Please provide detail: What aspects of the new service model do you think is most responsible for this improvement? What changes in use of technologies have enhanced the new service modelâs appeal or effectiveness? What improvements (if any) have you seen from use of new technologies? Have you changed any policies (e.g., the size of the pick-up window) as a result of the new service model or use of new technologies, and assessed the results? If yes, why did you change them, and have you assessed the results? For systems with centralized call center functions (with the transit agency, broker, or call center manager, what was the most important reason why you opted to centralize these functions rather than vest them with one or more service providers? For systems with in-house call centers and/or operations: what have been the most impactful characteristics of using agency staff to perform all or a part of your service?
172 ADA Paratransit Service Models For systems that use contractors to staff brokerage or call center functions, what have been the most impactful characteristics of using contractors to perform call center functions and why did you choose to retain a call center manager over a broker (or vice-versa)? For systems that use a dedicated service provider contractor or contractors just for service delivery, what have been the most impactful characteristics of using contractor(s) to perform service delivery? For systems that use a contractor or contractors for all or most functions, what have been the most impactful characteristic of using contractor(s) to perform all or most functions? For systems that use multiple contractors for service delivery, what were the most important factors in your decision to involve more than one service provider contractor? For systems that that use multiple contractors for service delivery, how did you decide on the number (and assignment) of contractors? For systems that are contemplating a change to their service model, what is the motivating reason (or what are you trying to fix?) Did you make this change to coincide with a change in the service model? â« Yes â« No â« N/A What were the primary reasons why you made this change? â« To improve cost efficiency (afford more trips) â« To enhance â and provide more control over -- service quality â« To better control the balance between cost efficiency and service quality â« Other: Did you achieve your goal(s)? â« Yes â« No â« N/A What changes in service or cost performance statistics evidence achievement of this goal? Please provide detail: For systems that also use non-dedicated service for ADA paratransit, have you assessed its cost-effectiveness? â« Yes â« No â« N/A Did it result in more cost-effective service? â« Yes â« No â« N/A
Survey Questionnaire 173 If yes, what was the result of the analysis, e.g., overall unit cost for ADA paratransit was reduced from $_____ to $_____? For systems that also use non-dedicated service for ADA paratransit, have you put in practices to monitor the compliance of the non-dedicated service? â« Yes â« No â« N/A For systems that have changed the way they procure and/or pay a contractor, what was the former process or payment structure? Case Example Participation Would you be willing to participate further as a detailed case example if selected by the TCRP panel for this project? This involves a telephone interview going into further detail on your agencyâs experience. â« Yes â« No END OF SURVEY: Thank you for participating in this survey Please return by January 29, 2017 to: Will Rodman Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates 77 Franklin St., 10th Floor Boston, MA 02110 Tel: +1 617-521-9405 Email: wrodman@nelsonnygaard.com We encourage you to complete the survey via the web. If you have any questions about the survey or the project, feel free to contact Will by email or phone.
