Questions and Answers.pdf

Atlanta Regional Commuter Survey RFP

Questions and Answers

1. The Commuter Survey project is for 18-month contract, can the project be completed before the 18 month-end and in a shorter period of time?

A. Yes, it is ARC’s expectation that the major deliverables be completed before the end of the 18-month contract period. That time period represents the hard stop deadline for all work, and billing, related to this contract, but it is ultimately up to the bidding consultant to propose a timeline and working schedule.

2. Are there any prespecified milestones for the Commuter Survey project within those 18 months? If so, please share.

A. It is ARC’s expectation that the major deliverables be completed before the end of the 18-month contract period, and some milestones and deliverables are reliant on the completion of others, but it is ultimately up to the bidding consultant to propose a timeline and working schedule for the project and its constituent parts.

3. Is having a DBE as a contractor/sub-contractor a requirement? If yes, is giving the DBE 17.61% of the scope and funding a requirement as well?

A. The DBE % is an agency goal and ARC encourages teams who propose to include a DBE firm to meet our agency goal. ARC’s overall goal for FY 2024 is 16.7% of the Federal Financial assistance we will expend in DOT-assisted contracts. Information regarding ARC’s DBE Program can be found at www.atlantaregional.com/about-us/business-opportunities.

The DBE goal is not part of the evaluation criteria

To count towards ARC’s DBE goal, DBE’s must be certified through with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) or the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)

4. What was the eligibility rate for all households invited to participate in the 2019

RCS?

A. Unknown

5. How many households had more than one person complete the survey in 2019?

http://www.atlantaregional.com/about-us/business-opportunities http://www.atlantaregional.com/about-us/business-opportunities

6. How many surveys were completed in Spanish in 2019?

A. Unknown. For the previous iteration of the Regional Commuter Survey, once the questionnaire was finalized, it was translated into Spanish, with the Spanish version of the questionnaire was made available to respondents by a toggle switch. However, it is unknown how many respondents utilized this function.

7. What percentage of the 2019 survey version do you anticipate will be retained in the upcoming survey?

A. The survey should follow previous iterations of the Regional Commuter Survey as closely as possible to allow for the analysis of long-term trends. However, certain changes will be necessary to update the previous iteration of the survey questionnaire, and it will be the responsibility of the contractor to lead this work and make recommendations for possible edits, additions, and updates.

8. What was the average time taken by respondents to complete the survey in 2019?

9. How much focus will ARC place on trend data?

A. The primary focus of this project will be the responses to and results of this new iteration of the Regional Commuter Survey. However, wherever possible, ARC is interested in analyzing long-term trends, particularly in comparison to the 2019 Regional Commuter Survey.

10. In what format will ARC provide the trend data for the vendor's review, and how far back is ARC interested in reviewing?

A. ARC will provide the selected vendor with final reports and any related data from previous iterations of the Regional Commuter Survey. Regarding trend data, ARC is primarily interested in comparing the new iteration of the survey with the previous version, conducted in 2019.

11. Will ARC give preference to consultants or firms based in the Atlanta metro area?

A. No preference will be given to local consultants, but the ease of working and meeting with the bidding vendor will be taken into consideration when scoring proposals.

12. May we propose optional add-on components that are not required or outlined in the RFP?

A. Yes, the bidding vendor may propose option add-on components that are not required or outlined in the RFP.

13. Task 2.3 on page 7 of the RFP states, “Preparing staff who will assisting (sic) respondents for the address-based survey mail out. Deliverable: A FAQ document for survey staff.” Is “staff” referring to ARC staff? Or is it referring to our company’s staff?

A. The selected consultant is expected procure and/or provide survey staff who will be responsible for assisting survey respondents with questions and other survey-related issues.

14. Task 3.1 on pages 7-8 of the RFP state that the consultant will be responsible for producing a final RCS report, and “Additionally, the contractor will create a thorough presentation slide deck to accompany and summarize the final RCS report.” Is there a required format (Word, PowerPoint, etc.) for the final RCS report? Further, is it correct to assume that the accompanying presentation slide deck can be created in PowerPoint format?

A. There is no required format for the final RCS report, but it ultimately needs to be a downloadable document. And yes, presentation slide decks should be created and made available using PowerPoint.

15. We have noted in the RFP that ARC is agnostic with regards to methodology for survey distribution. However, we would like to confirm if it is allowable to partially source sample from third-party sample partners.

A. It is ARC’s goal to have representative and non-biased survey results, but it is up to the bidding vendor to propose the best way to achieve this. ARC is open to the use of third-party sample partners if it is the best way to achieve the desired results.

16. The RFP focuses on online surveys only; we noted that the 2019 study had a call-in line listed on the postcard (which was not utilized by any respondents). Would ARC consider a phone survey component for this study, or should 100% of surveys be collected online?

A. It is up to the vendor to propose the methodology for conducting the survey, but ARC is open to any and all approaches.

17. Does ARC own the domain that was printed on the postcards for the 2019 survey, or is the domain owned by another entity?

A. No, ARC does not own that domain.

18. Task 3.2 on page 8 of the RFP states that a set of final reports will be created for each TMA territory, in addition to a presentation slide deck to accompany each of the TMA reports. Is there a required format (Word, PowerPoint, etc.) for the TMA reports? Further, is it correct to assume that the accompanying presentation slide decks can be created in PowerPoint format?

A. There is no required format for the final RCS report for each TMA territory, but it ultimately needs to be a downloadable document. And yes, presentation slide decks should be created and made available using PowerPoint.

19. Will the public-facing dashboard need to be created using any particular software, platform, etc.?

A. There is no required software/platform to be used in creating the public-facing dashboard. It is up to the consultant to propose which software/platform to use. However, ARC employees who will be involved with this project do currently work with Tableau.

20. Is ARC open to fielding a shorter version of the survey (in addition to the full-length version)?

A. Yes, ARC is open to fielding a shorter version of the survey in addition to the full length version.