Dispatch-Brokerage Software RFI_21Oct2021.pdf

Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments (OCWCOG) Request for Information Brokerage and Dispatch Software October 21, 2021

Responses Requested by 11:59 PM, Wednesday, November 17th, 2021

Contact:

Nick Meltzer, Transportation Manager nmeltzer@ocwcog.org, 541-758-1911

Introduction

Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments (OCWCOG) received a Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund (STIF) discretionary grant to provide an upgrade for the OCWCOG’s Ride Line Brokerage software for non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT). OCWCOG is partnering with Benton Area Transit to upgrade their dispatch software through a shared Request for Information, due to our similar needs. This Request for Information (RFI) seeks to identify potential vendors that can provide software solutions for both agencies.

OCWCOG and Benton Area Transit/Benton County currently use legacy systems that do not provide many amenities of newer, cloud based, Software as a Service (SaaS) products.

Project Description

OCWCOG is partnering with Benton Area Transit, a separate entity, to do a shared Request for Information. It is expected the two agencies will be separate formal procurements following this RFI, however any opportunity to align the two Request for Proposals will be made to ease the submittal process for prospective bidders. Respondents to this RFI are encouraged to offer advice on how we can the formal procurement process more streamlined and/or more successful for vendors.

The two agencies’ existing system, and needs, are described in more detail below:

A) Updating OCWCOG’s Ride Line’s Brokerage software for NEMT

Currently, Ride Line uses the Oregon Brokerage System (OBS), which is extremely outdated and lacks the general functionality of many solutions available today. It requires many work arounds to function properly, and OCWCOG’s IT Department is skeptical the software will function for much longer. Due to the software location on a local server within the building any staff must use a remote desktop if working remotely. This proved a significant challenge to move workers off site during the COVID pandemic. Scheduling is currently done using pencil and paper, a labor intensive process. Ride Line does not qualify individuals on their own—the database is imported from the State of Oregon. As such, any new system must be interoperable.

In addition to scheduling rides to medical appointments, Ride Line also handles mileage reimbursements for more self-sufficient individuals. The program also completes regular grant reporting to insure consistent funding for the program. The program sees incredible value in automated ride reminders to clients, and is curious about online portals for clients to request mailto:nmeltzer@ocwcog.org rides. Ride Line currently contracts with private providers to provide rides for clients and communicates with their dispatch system regularly.

B) Updating Benton Area Transit’s paratransit qualification, and overall dispatch software Benton Area Transit currently provides fixed route transit as well as demand response trips throughout Benton County. In addition, they provide paratransit services for Corvallis Transit System and Philomath Connection, two local fixed route systems. Benton Area Transit does eligibility qualification internally, through other county departments. Billing passengers is cumbersome, and staff struggle to separate paratransit and demand response programs with the current software system. BAT is also interested in communicating (i.e. automated notifications) to clients, and need to be able to integrate their existing public transit with paratransit and demand response systems when it comes to dispatch. BAT is interested in exploring mobility on demand services in the future.

Considerations

The following themes are consistent among both agencies and respondents to this RFI should address how their solution meets the need of each:

• Eligibility. Ride Line uses the Oregon Medicaid Portal to identify eligibility, so any solution must be able to interpret existing systems used by the state. BAT completes eligibility in-house, so they require edit access as well, by staffpersons outside the normal transit operations.

• Routing/Scheduling. This is currently completed using staff or driver’s best judgement and is not flexible during daily operations (i.e. the routes/rides are set the day prior and any day of changes are complicated).

• Booking and Communication. Ride requests are taken over the phone for both agencies and then eligibility is reviewed prior to booking. Scheduling is then done via staff. Both agencies are looking to modernize this approach.

• Transition Process. As both agencies have current systems, it will require careful planning to insure a smooth transition with minimal interruption of services, with special attention to systems alignment, and training with not just program staff, but IT staff.

• Expandability. While both agencies are currently interested in replacing their existing software solution, there is a desire to explore add on services in the future, including mapping of vehicles (fixed route, paratransit, demand response and non-emergent medical transportation), as well as the potential to incorporate or integrate mobility on demand (MoD) features.

Questions

In addition to providing an overview of your services, OCWCOG requests responses to the following questions:

1. How does the respondents’ services integrate with other public transit and mobility services?

Does your solution require propriety hardware for vehicle tracking or is it hardware agnostic?

2. Can the respondent provide rules of thumb for anticipating costs, implementation time, training time?

3. What common barriers to successful projects has the respondent encountered that could be addressed during the RFP development phase?

4. Are there other considerations we should be aware of?

Response Requirements

Interested vendors are invited to submit an overview of their services, responses to questions and identify any opportunities for consideration in future RFP development.

In addition to responding to the RFI, interested vendors are invited to give a 15-minute virtual presentation on Thursday, December 2, between 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM, Pacific Time.

To submit materials, send a single PDF file to Nick Meltzer at nmeltzer@ocwcog.org. To indicate interest for the December 2 meeting, please mention that in your submittal, by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, November 17th, 2021. As this is a request for information only and will not lead to an immediate contract, please do not send questions regarding responses or invitations to meet and discuss the project.

Responding to this Request for Information will in no way preference or preclude you from submitting future Requests for Proposals for this project through the Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments, or Benton Area Transit/Benton County.

mailto:nmeltzer@ocwcog.org