How to Contract for Services

Beverly G. Ward, Ph.D.Coordination-UWR Ambassador

26 August 200816th Annual Florida Transportation Training &

Technology Conference

Introductions and Objectives• Self-introductions– Who you are, what you do, where you do it– One challenge

• Goal & Objectives– Goal: Provide attendees an overview of general

contracting language, purpose, and examples of contract language related to providing human service and public transportation

– Objectives• Understand what is being said, who is to do what, and how to

resolve differences• Identify contracting solutions• Interact with and learn from each other• Have fun!

Overview

• Why?• Definitions• Regulations• Scope of Work• Monitoring• What if….?• Other

Why Contract?

• Improve productivity– Provide more access/mobility

• Decrease administrative costs– High eligibility/reservation/dispatching costs– Other admin costs, e.g., bookkeeping, etc.

• Decrease operating costs– Large service area– High operating costs, e.g., labor, fuel, etc.

Definitions of Key Terms

• Contract1.an agreement between two or more parties for

the doing or not doing of something specified.2.an agreement enforceable by law. 3.the written form of such an agreement…Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Definitions of Key Terms (cont’d)• Agreement

1. the act of agreeing or of coming to a mutual arrangement.2. the state of being in accord.3. an arrangement that is accepted by all parties to a transaction.4. a contract or other document delineating such an arrangement.5. unanimity of opinion; harmony in feeling: …7. collective agreement.8. Law.

a. an expression of assent by two or more parties to the same object.

b. the phraseology, written or oral, of an exchange of promisesDctionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Definitions of Key Terms (cont’d)

• Driver- or vehicle-hours: when the vehicle is on its way to pick up or is actually carrying a passenger.

• Passenger- or revenue-hours : when the vehicle is actually carrying a passenger.

• Passenger- or revenue-miles: first pick-up to last drop-off minus driver breaks and lunch.

• Vehicle-miles: pullout to pull-in.

USDOT, FTA, and State Regulations• USDOT

– 49 CFR 18 - Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_06/49cfr18_06.html

• Other federal programs, depending on funding sources– Examples, AOA, DOE, DOL, HHS, TANF, etc.

• FTA– C 4220.1E, Third Party Contracting Requirements, 06-19-03– Urbanized & Nonurbanized

• Urbanized Area Formula Program: Grant Application Instructions, http://www.fta.dot.gov/laws/circulars/leg_reg_4125.html

• Nonurbanized Area Formula Program Guidance and Grant Application Instructions, http://www.fta.dot.gov/laws/circulars/leg_reg_6519.html

USDOT, FTA, and State Regulations (cont’d)

• Florida Statutes– Title XXVI: Public Transportation, Chapter 337,

Contracting; Acquisition, Disposal, and Use of Property, http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0337/titl0337.htm• 337.015 Administration of public contracts.• 337.02 Purchases by department subject to

competitive bids; advertisement; emergency purchases; bid specifications.

USDOT, FTA, and State Regulations (cont’d)

• Florida Statutes– Title XXVI, Public Transportation, Chapter 341,Public

Transit, http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0341/titl0341.htm

– Title XXX, Social Welfare, Chapter 427, Special Transportation and Communications Services, http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0427/titl0427.htm

• Local regulations– County, city, agency…

Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged (CTD)• TD Handbook,

http://www.dot.state.fl.us/ctd/programinfo/tdhandbook.htm– Commission Information– Finance Section– Quality Assurance Section– Program Administration Section

Why Are You Doing This to Us?

• Awareness of the regulatory environment and guidance

• Awareness of resources– FTA– CTD– Local government(s)– Peers– Trade associations

Scope of Work• Heart of the contract– Data driven– Build up– Clear statements

• Services• Deliverables/products• Performance measures• Period of performance

• Flow– Contracting out– Contracting in

Scope of Work (cont’d)

• Types of services– Administration• Reservations• Scheduling• Dispatching

– Operation• Operating the vehicles• Maintenance

Scoping Questions to Answer

• What is to be done?• Who will do it?– Who will provide what?

• How will it be done?• Where will it take place?• When is it done?• How will the quality of the services be measured?• What happens if agreement is/not met?– How will you know?

Scoping Examples

• What is to be done? Administration– Reservations• Intake hardware/software, e.g., telephone, computers,

software, etc., is provided by ________• Eligibility, if applicable, is determined ________• Trip assignments are made by ________• Complaints, comments, general inquiries, etc., are

handled by ________• Data is collected, reported, and submitted by

________Transytems (formerly Multisystems). Innovative Practices in Paratransit Services (2002). Washington, DC: Easter Seals Project ACTION. Electronic, http://projectaction.easterseals.com/site/DocServer/03IPP.pdf?docID=3196

Scoping Examples

• What is to be done? Vehicle Operations– Passenger Trip Demand Data• # Passengers—annual• # Weekday trips per day—average• # Weekday passengers per day—average• # Passengers per trip—average• # Percent wheelchair trips• # Passenger trips per hour for typical day or all five

weekdays• # Passenger trip length distribution

Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates (2007). Toolkit for Integrating Non-Dedicated Vehicles in Paratransit Service. TCRP Report 121, Washington, DC: Transit Cooperative Research Program, Transportation Research Board. Electronic: http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_121.pdf

Scoping Examples (cont’d)• Vehicle Operations (cont’d)– Service Area Characteristics• Service area size (square miles)• Effective service area size (square miles)• Vehicle average speed when traveling (excluding

pickup and dropoff time)• Excess ride time standard—policy for system• Time window for pickup time estimate (minutes)—

policy for system• Average dwell time ambulatory trips• Average dwell time wheelchair trips

Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates (2007). Toolkit for Integrating Non-Dedicated Vehicles in Paratransit Service. TCRP Report 121, Washington, DC: Transit Cooperative Research Program, Transportation Research Board. Electronic: http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_121.pdf

Scoping Examples (cont’d)• Deliverables/Products

– Administration: Reservations• Hardware/software to provide services

– Adequacy of hardware/software • # Trip requests• # Reservations made• # Unmet requests• # Other calls

– Operations: Vehicle Operations• # Passengers served—actual• # Trips per day—actual• # Weekday passengers per day—average• # Passengers—actual• # Percent wheelchair trips• # Passenger trips per hour/mile• # Passenger trip length distribution• Total revenue• # Complaints

– Reporting Frequency

Monitoring• Effectiveness : a desired level of service as

measured by predetermined standards ...• Efficiency: maximum service for minimum cost,

subject to minimum service criteria ... • Productivity: the relative operating efficiency of

a transportation service, usually expressed as the number of passengers carried per hour or per mile of vehicle operation.

• Reliability: the variability of predicted and actual waiting times, punctuality and arrival times; also dependability.

Monitoring (cont’d)

• Administration– Intake hardware/software standards met/unmet• Reliability of telephone access• Reporting intervals

– Comment/complaint/suggestion process– Overall customer service– Requests denied

Monitoring

• Operations– Driver qualification/performance– Safe operation– Vehicle standards and conditions– Pick-up and drop-off times– Comments, complaints, and commendations– Trip lengths– Missed trips– Accidents/incidents

What if….?

• Undesirable performance– Consider incentives for desired performance,

and…– Penalties, if baselines are not met

• It just can’t be fixed– Termination clause

• Transitioning to another provider/vendor– Minimize impact on users

Other

• Subsidized taxi service• Shuttle services• Vehicle cleaning/maintenance• Long trips• Non-emergency medical trips– ½ non-emergency medical trips

References/Resources• Innovative Practices in Paratransit,

http://projectaction.easterseals.com/site/DocServer/03IPP.pdf?docID=3196

• Synthesis of Transit Practice 31, Paratransit Contracting and Service Delivery Methods, http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/tcrp/tsyn31.pdf

• Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA), Information Station, http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=1&z=40

• Project ACTION Clearinghouse Store, https://secure2.convio.net/es/site/Ecommerce/1160535344?FOLDER=1060&store_id=3863

hutchinson@ctaa.org800.891.0590, Ext. 730

ward@ctaa.org800.891.0590x735

THANK YOU!