Amendment 2 2024-11025.pdf

February 19, 2025

SPOKANE TRANSIT AUTHORITY

ADDENDUM TO

RFP 2024-11025 – DATA FEED & CUSTOMER INFORMATION IMPROVEMENTS

AMENDMENT NO. 2

Amendment 2 consists of this cover page and one (1) attachment:

- Responses to Questions and Requests for Approved Equals, Clarifications, or Changes This Addendum is hereby made a part of the RFP document to the same extent as though it were originally included therein. All Proposers shall acknowledge receipt and understanding of this addendum by completing the information required on Attachment A, Proposal Response Form, and returning the signed page with their proposal on or before the proposal due date.

Jennifer Anderson Procurement Coordinator

RFP 2024-11025

Amendment 2 - Questions and Answers

Question # Document Section

Page Number Question STA Response

1 1.7 7

Could you please advise if we can participate as a proposer without having all certifications secured before the proposal deadline, with the assurance that all certifications will be provided before the contract is awarded?

If you are a business located in Washington State, you must meet the registration/licensing criteria as outlined in the RFP at the time of proposal. If you are an out of state business, you may or may not be required to obtain some/all registrations listed in the RFP. Please review the resources provided in the RFP regarding registration requirements for non-Washington based businesses and reach out directly to the appropriate state agency if you have questions.

2 NA NA

Our understanding is that this RFP requires that the respondent make data available for other systems and their staff time to train users of that data, but not that the respondent actually complete integration into the SMS or email system. Can you confirm this, or is STA looking for a respondent to also complete the email and SMS integrations?

We do not need contractor to complete email/sms integrations, rather supply STA with a feed. We do request that you have some sort of alerting/notification functionality within your proposed mobile app.

3 NA NA What is STA's total fixed route fleet size (VAMS)? STA's current fixed route size is 174.

4 2.0 10

What components of Section 2 are required for subs in addition to primes? Specifically, are the following required from subs as well as primes: Qualifications of the Proposer, Project Experience, References, Financial Capacity, Required Attachments, Key Personnel, Team Organization, Qualifications of Key Personnel, Organizational Chart, Availability and Location of Key Personnel, Resumes, Management Plan, Concurrent Contracts, Project Understanding and Approach, Work Plan, Locations of Work, Proposer Registration and Licenses (section 1.7).

For subs, please provide Project Experience, Key Personnel, Qualifications of Key Personnel, Team Organization, Organizational Chart, Availability and Location of Key Personnel, Resumes, Management Plan, Locations of Work.

STA expects that the proposal will clearly outline which firm (prime vs. sub) will be responsible for each component of work and how the firms intend to coordinate to accomplish the scope.

5 NA NA

Can STA confirm that generation of a GTFS-rt alerts feed is outside the scope of this procurement?

If your solution improves/adds value to the GTFS-R data, we request that you supply back the value added GTFS-R feed to us for our use elsewhere. We do request that you send alerts/notifications within your proposed mobile solution.

6 SOW NA

For "Reporting tool that converts data into interactive reports and dashboards (similar to Power BI, Tableau, etc.)," which data is STA interested in seeing in a reporting tool?

It would be useful to report on the use of the supplied tools so we can quantify use of each feature. A good use would be widgets that we could incorporate on our website that shows service information, maps, etc. Overall, we want to be able to understand mobile tool use and have the data to troubleshoot issues.

Question # Document Section

Page Number Question STA Response

7 SOW NA

What does "savable" mean in this context? "Real-time and savable regional trip planning to include walking and biking times, transfer instructions, etc."

Our desired solution would allow a user to save frequent trip destinations, such as to work, school, or home, so they didn't need to be entered each time.

8 NA NA Which email and SMS systems are currently used by STA? Sendgrid and Twilio

9 2.1 10 Is there a page limit for the response?

No, but please limit the submittal to necessary content only. Proposals shall not include any unnecessary, generic or elaborate promotional material.

10 NA NA

Do you currently have an on-demand transit program? If yes, who is the vendor?

No

11 SOW 2 Can you clarify what is meant by a detour rescension? When a detour goes away in favor of the regular route

12 SOW 2

Can you clarify what is being requested with a "data-string of detour information" and what the ideal output is for

STA?

GIS shapefiles are preferred. And we inadvertently used the phrase "data-string" when we meant "text-string" - we are seeking a text string of the detour

13 SOW 2

Can you clarify what is being requested with a "a data string of service cancellations and any recensions" and what is the ideal output for STA?

We inadvertently used the phrase "data-string" when we meant "text-string" -we are seeking a text string of the cancellation information or recension of that cancellation. Text file is ideal

14 2.3.4 12 For Tab C - Concurrent Contracts: If concurrent projects will not impact the deployment for STA, is information needed for this section?

Yes, provide a list of present and anticipated future contracts which may run concurrent with the Work. Where applicable, include in the Work Project Schedule such contracts.

15 Att D NA Will STA accept a price proposal in a format different from what is provided?

No - price proposals need to be submitted using Attachment D, the Price Proposal Form. Additional information may be included where noted on the form or on an attachment, if additional space is necessary.

16 NA NA

Would STA be open to paying up front for all 5 years of the contract?

STA is unable to prepay for all 5 years.

17 Att D NA If sales tax is required, should that be included in the price proposal?

If sales tax is required, it should be listed separately.

18 NA NA Will the 5 year contract have any additional optional years? No.

19 NA NA

Was the pre-proposal conference call from 2/6 recorded?

Is it possible for us to watch or get a transcript?

See Amendment 1, Answer 2

20 SOW 2

Are there any existing GIS platforms or mapping tools currently used by STA that the solution needs to integrate with (besides Vontas)?

Google Maps, ARCGis

Question # Document Section

Page Number Question STA Response

21 1.5 6 Are digital signatures acceptable for our submission? Yes

22 SOW 3

What specific micro transit mobile applications is the proposed solution required to integrate with?

There is no requirement to integrate as STA currently does not offer micro transit. We will be piloting micro transit in the future (likely 2027 or later), and so would like the option to integrate if possible, but have no specific solutions in place.

23 NA NA Is STA planning on using federal funds for this project? No

24 NA NA

We have an existing agreement with STA that would be easy to amend to include additional software. Would STA be open to amending that contract rather than renegotiating a new contract?

No. This scope was not contemplated in any existing contract and is extensive enough that adding it would represent a cardinal change in the work. STA must solicit for these new services.

25 NA NA

Do you currently have a Trip Planner engine in operation?

If not, is a trip planner engine part of this procurement?

We gather data in our own web based trip planner and forward the data to Google maps for them to display options. We desire you to propose a trip planner as part of the mobile application.

26 NA NA

Do you currently have GTFS-RT information available with the delays and alerts you mentioned in you document so that a system can use?

The GTFS-R feed has the information.

27 NA NA When is the expected project kickoff date? May/June 2025

28 NA NA

What is your ideal timeline for going live? If there are expected milestones or deliverable dates, what are they?

Please refer to the timeline listed in the RFP.

29 NA NA

Is there an expected budget range allocated to this project?

See Amendment 1, Answer 21.

30 NA NA

Is there an expectation or preference of pricing model for each distinct phase of the request? Fixed fee, Time and Materials, etc.

Use Attachment D, the Price Proposal Form, to submit all pricing/costs applicable to your proposal.

31 NA NA

Is there any on-site or remote expectation or preference for the project?

Opportunity to meet on site for kick off on site is preferred to establish business requirements.

32 SOW 3

Does STA require only real-time transit data, or will historical data be needed for reporting, analytics, or machine learning?

We will not provide historical data but would expect historical data to be retained from the start of the contract.

33 SOW NA

If historical data retention is required, what is the expected storage duration (e.g., 6 months, 1 year, 5 years)?

Three years is the minimum amount of time STA is required to retain the data according to Washington State’s Retention Schedule. STA may determine the data needs to be kept in the system longer in order to generate the historical data mentioned in the Scope of Work.

Question # Document Section

Page Number Question STA Response

34 NA NA

Should we incorporate predictive analytics to enhance ETA accuracy, or is that already handled by Vontas On-Route?

We are looking for predictive analytics to enhance ETA accuracy for customer trip planning.

35 SOW NA

STA prefers GTFS-RT as the primary source for service alerts. Are there scenarios where we should fetch data directly from Vontas On-Route?

We would prefer that GTFS-R provide all of the data. If that feed does not contain the information you need, and you believe On-Route does, that would be an acceptable situation.

36 NA NA

Will we have access to Vontas API documentation and a sandbox/test environment before development begins?

Vontas does not have API integration. We recommend the GTFS-R feed for your solution. We can make that available.

37 NA NA

What is the expected latency of Vontas On-Route updates, and should we implement failover mechanisms in case of delays?

Our current latency from Vontas through to our URL on is 11 seconds. We believe your failover should be available should the feed be interrupted for some reason.

38 NA NA

STA’s system combines multiple vehicle position feeds for redundancy. How many different feeds exist, and how should they be prioritized?

We only have one vehicle position feed, GTFS-R.

39 NA NA

Are there known data quality issues (e.g., GPS drift, inconsistent updates, vehicle assignment mismatches) that we should account for?

We have some known issues with location tracking that Vontas has identified as bugs and is resolving. We don't have issues with vehicle mismatches.

40 NA NA

Should riders be able to select between push or polling updates?

Options are nice, but not required.

41 A1 Q&A

Amendment 1 states STA has no preference between cloud (AWS, Azure) or on-prem solutions. Does STA currently have a cloud infrastructure (e.g., AWS GovCloud, Azure Gov) that we should integrate with?

We currently have an AWS commercial tenant where we host some our website and serve GTFS-R access.

42 NA NA

Are there specific cybersecurity requirements (e.g., SOC 2, FedRAMP compliance) that we must adhere to?

If you are hosting a solution, we'll look for a SOC2.

43 SOW 2

The RFP requires the app to be functional on all common operating systems. Are there any specific devices (e.g., lower-end Android phones) that STA wants us to optimize for?

No

44 SOW NA

STA prefers multilingual notifications in six Safe Harbor languages (Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Tagalog, Arabic, Vietnamese). Does STA have a translation service/API, or should we provide one?

Please provide one.

Question # Document Section

Page Number Question STA Response

45 SOW NA

How does STA define an "accessible" mobile app—should it include screen readers, voice commands, or other assistive technologies?

The mobile application should be compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. The application itself does not need to provide these, but needs to be compatible with them.

46 SOW 2

Should detours be detected purely based on AVL deviations, or should operators manually confirm detours before they are displayed to customers?

Detours should be based on AVL detection with ability for administrative approval.

47 SOW 2

Should customers be able to report incorrect detour information through the app?

This is not required, but would be considered.

48 SOW 2

Are detour maps expected to be static images, or should they be interactive (allow zooming, stop selection, etc.)?

A static image will suffice, though GIS shapefile to allow zooming is desireable.

49 SOW 2

The RFP states that push notifications should supplement STA’s existing SMS/email system. Should we build a unified messaging system, or does STA want to keep them separate?

At this time, we are planning to keep separate so there is not a need to build a unified system. However, should an existing solution be presented, we would consider.

50 SOW 2

Should riders be able to customize their alerts (e.g., receive notifications only for specific routes/times)?

That would be ideal. For our current SMS and email system, they are able to do this.

51 SOW 2

Should riders be able to select between push or polling notifications?

Options are nice, but not required.

52 SOW NA

Should the system prioritize real-time traffic data, historical trends, or a combination for ETA calculations?

We are looking for the best recommendation from the vendor on what provides the most accurate prediction.

53 NA NA

Are there existing ETA reliability issues in the current system that we should be aware of?

No

54 SOW NA

Should passengers receive customized ETA estimates based on their usual commute patterns?

Not entirely sure what you are asking, but there is not an expectation of customized estimates. We are seeking estimated arrivals based on real-time conditions.

55 SOW 3

STA wants mobile payment integration with INIT. Does STA have existing contracts with INIT that we should work within, or do we need to handle procurement and setup?

We are seeking the possibilty of integration with INIT; it is not a required integration. INIT is our current fare collection system, and we do not plan to integrate systems at this time, but would like option in future.

56 NA NA

Should we integrate with bike/scooter services or rideshare platforms at launch, or is this a future phase?

At this time, we do no plan this integration, but wanted to keep option for the possiblity in the future, so it is not a required integration.

Question # Document Section

Page Number Question STA Response

57 NA NA

Are there known historical GPS accuracy issues (e.g., ghost buses appearing on the map), or should we expect to manually refine GPS-based predictions based on detected anomalies?

We have limited historical GPS accuracy issues and are more concerned with refinements in the GPS-based predictions based on the detected anomalies.

58 NA NA

How does STA currently ensure that AVL positions are correctly assigned to routes, trips, and operators?

On Route (Vontas)

59 NA NA

Should the system implement fallback logic if discrepancies between GTFS-RT and AVL data are detected?

Yes

60 SOW NA

Beyond the integrations referenced in the RFP (Vontas On- Route, GTFS-RT, and SMS/email systems), are there any other existing backend services that we should leverage?

No; however if you believe we have systems or data that would provide information you need, provide a specific request for that information.

61 NA NA

Will any new backend services be developed in parallel by STA or other vendors, or is the expectation that we build everything required for the mobile application?

We expect the vendor to provide the mobile solution in its entirety.

62 NA NA

If existing services are to be used, are they fully production-ready and well-documented, or will modifications/enhancements be needed?

We are in production.

63 NA NA

Should we plan for middleware or API layers to bridge the mobile app with existing STA services, or is direct integration with existing systems possible?

Direct access to GTFS-RT is available.