RFI 49 25 Automated Bus Lane Bus Stop Enforcement System March 2025.pdf

MASSACHUSETTS BAY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

Automated Bus Lane and Bus Stop Enforcement System

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION #49-25

COMMBUY’s Open Market Bid BD-24-1206-40000-40000-114821

Contact Person:

Akira Hakuta Senior Technical Project Manager Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority 10 Park Plaza Boston, MA 02116 ahakuta@mbta.com

ISSUE DATE: 4/2/2025

Purchasing Department MBTA Procurement & Logistics

Address 10 Park Plaza, Room 2810

City, State Zip Code Boston, MA 02116

Procurement Contact Person Steven Pelczar

E-Mail Address Spelczar@mbta.com

Please Note: This is a single document associated with a Request for Information (RFI) that can be found on www.COMMBUYS.com. Interested parties are responsible for reviewing and adhering to all information, forms and requirements for the RFI. Responders may also contact the COMMBUYS Helpdesk at COMMBUYS@state.ma.us or the COMMBUYS Helpline at 1-888-MA-STATE. The Helpline is staffed from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday Eastern Standard or Daylight time, as applicable, except on federal, state and Suffolk county holidays.

http://www.commbuys.com/ mailto:COMMBUYS@state.ma.us

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

{Name of RFI}

RFI #25-24 / COMMBUYs Open Market Bid BD-24-1206-40000-40000-114821

1. Description or Purpose of Procurement:

Through this Request for Information (RFI), the MBTA seeks to understand the current market for service proven automated, camera-based enforcement systems that can accurately identify and ticket unlawfully parked, standing, or moving vehicles in bus lanes and at bus stops.

The MBTA is especially interested in vendors capable of providing enforcement systems that function on vehicles, or that can be mounted to a pole at a fixed location, that are highly autonomous and require little to no human input to operate, and that have a proven record of high citation accuracy at existing large scale deployments. These systems should ideally be end-to-end solutions that consist of three integrated systems:

1) hardware that is highly accurate at violation/event detection, 2) software for violation/event review by program administrators, and 3) software that allows program administrators to view, edit, manage, and easily produce reports on violations, and that provides the public with a responsive web portal to review and pay violation fees. These systems should have the ability to integrate with other violation processing systems, and to support additional violation types in the future.

2. Requested Information (RFI Response):

When answering the questions below, please clarify when a feature is:

1) Available as part of the default "off-the-shelf" configuration

2) In-development and planned to be added to the default configuration

3) Would be considered a customization, or if other constraints apply

Response should be submitted in COMMBUYS in the specific template provided and should address the following topics:

Relevant experience and references

1 What cities have you deployed your automated enforcement systems in, and for what customers?

Please specify the size of each deployment by city (number of vehicles/fixed locations installed, number of bus stops and routes covered), the violation types your system currently enforces in each city, the type of installation (retrofit or part of a new bus purchase and the nature of each deployment (e.g. contract or no-cost pilot), and the installation dates.

2 Please provide three references at past or existing transit agency customers, including phone number and email.

3 Please describe the timeline from contract signing to full implementation for these other customers.

Automated enforcement technology

4 What is your system’s theory of operation? How does it automatically capture, process, identify, and transmit violation data on unlawfully parked or standing vehicles in bus lanes and at bus stops with high degree of accuracy? Please explain the way your technology works as clearly and simply as possible, as if you were explaining it to an 8th grader.

5 Does your system operate autonomously to generate violation packages, or does it require operator intervention using buttons or controls?

6 What is the accuracy rate of your system when it comes to the following automated enforcement use cases:

a. Determining whether a motor vehicle is standing in a bus lane.

b. Determining whether a motor vehicle is moving in a bus lane.

c. Determining whether a motor vehicle is standing in a bus stop.

d. Determining whether a motor vehicle is moving in a bus stop.

e. Determining the exact location of a vehicle.

f. Reading a vehicle’s license plate characters and state.

7 Please include for each scenario specified in 6.1 through 6.6 the following information:

a. Rates of false positives for your solution in each of the use cases.

b. Rates of false negatives for your solution in each of the use cases.

c. A description of how your system’s accuracy in these scenarios may or may not be affected in different weather such as fog, rain, and snow, and in different lighting conditions such as dawn, dusk, and in the dark.

d. A detailed description of the methodology used to determine the rates of accuracy cited for each of the use cases above.

8 Who are your top competitors for automated bus lane and bus stop enforcement, and what makes your automated enforcement technology solution better than your competitors?

Installation requirements and initial configuration

9 Can your system be retrofitted to current fleet vehicles? Are there any limitations that would prevent a retrofit from being possible?

10 Can your system be integrated into new bus purchases? Have you integrated your on-vehicle solution with any bus OEM’s? If so, which ones?

11 What does your camera-based enforcement system require to function correctly? Please detail the following for both on-vehicle and fixed installation systems:

a) Physical dimensions and weight of each system component.

b) Power requirements (including specs on the power consumed by your system).

c) Line of sight/placement/orientation requirements.

d) Ventilation requirements and high-temperature auto shutoff protection mechanisms.

e) Shock, vibration, bump, electromagnetic immunity and emissions, and weather sealing ratings for all equipment.

f) Operating and storage temperature ranges, as well as IEC 60068-2-1 test results indicating system performance in cold temperatures.

g) Any CAN bus, GPS, CAD/AVL, cellular data, and Wi-Fi connectivity requirements.

h) Mounting configurations.

12 Does you're on-vehicle solution require any permanent modifications (drilling holes, etc.) to the vehicle?

13 What data types do your on-vehicle and stationary automated enforcement systems require to detect bus lane and bus stop violations automatically?

14 On average, how long does it take to install your system to detect bus lane and bus stop violations automatically on one vehicle?

15 On average, how long does it take to install your system to detect bus lane and bus stop violations automatically into one fixed location?

16 On average, how long does it take to configure your system to detect bus lane and bus stop violations automatically per bus route?

17 Does your solution adhere to safety FTA safety protocols?

Product features

18 Once your automated enforcement system is on a vehicle or installed at a fixed location, what, if anything, needs to be done to it at the start of the day or the end of the day to ensure its correct operation? How does your system handle disruptions to power, such as when a bus is turned off and restarted or if power at a fixed installation goes out?

19 How does your ticket management software interface look and work? Please provide a video or screenshot-based demonstration of your ticket management software interface and how administrators can use it to review, manage, and report on automated violation data. Describe your system’s reporting capabilities and provide examples of available reports and explain any features that minimize the amount of time it takes to review a potential violation.

a) Can all the actions and data available in your system be integrated into another ticket management system?

20 How long on average does it take someone to review and process a violation package using your ticket management system?

21 Is your on-vehicle automated enforcement system able to change its enforcement business logic based on the jurisdiction the vehicle is currently in? If so, how does this work?

22 The MBTA will have program administrators that will be responsible for reviewing violation packages and processing violations and appeals.

Please:

a. List all program administrator actions that are logged in your software.

b. Explain how a program administrator could audit these logs.

c. Describe any controls that are in place to prevent the modification of these system logs, and if and how access to audit logs can be restricted to certain users.

Interoperability and data inputs/outputs

23 Is your automated enforcement system designed to integrate seamlessly with other ticket management systems? If so, how? Do you use a REST API, Webhooks, etc.?

24 Does your system support integration with corporate Active Directory (AD) accounts for staff single sign on? The MBTA prefers OpenID Connect (OIDC) or SAML integrations with Microsoft EntraID or Keycloak for applications integrating with AD.

25 Please provide documentation of your system’s Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that allow customer systems to interact with your product.

26 Can administrative actions be accomplished via a documented API? What actions in your software can only be accomplished via a graphical interface rather than a machine API?

27 Describe how your solution makes diagnostic data available to customers (e.g., device connectivity, failure codes, content versioning). Does this include a provided graphical interface as well as APIs or other machine-readable endpoints?

Infrastructure and information security

28 Please describe the following aspects of how your system handles data transmission and storage:

a. How and when your system transmits and stores violation evidence (list all types of data that are transmitted).

b. How encryption is handled (both in transit and at rest).

c. How long the data is stored, what cloud provider you use for storage, and if that data resides in the United States.

d. If and how your system minimizes unnecessary data transmission into storage for efficiency and privacy.

e. Does your system handle and respond to interruptions in cellular or Wi-Fi data connectivity?

f. Please describe your information security response process including leadership and your security team.

g. Describe the networking requirements for your solution – e.g., cellular data, first-responder cellular data networks. Do you have a preferred vendor of cellular routers? Is deploying these routers part of your solution?

h. Do you share any customer data with any third parties including cellular or wifi service providers?

i. How do you share incidents with third parties your organization contracts with that could potentially impact customer data?

29 Please provide a security overview of your platform, detailing:

a. Current compliance standards.

b. Information security controls and processes.

c. What types of Information Security certifications/attestations does your platform support/provide, such as SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27000-1 or GDPR

d. How your solution adheres to data privacy protocols for PII.

30 Does your system do anything to protect the privacy of pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and vehicles that do not violate predefined business rules? Please detail specifically how your product will comply with the privacy requirements detailed in the authorizing legislation (link to legislation here for reference).

31 Do your customers retain full ownership of all of the data generated from your systems? How is data removed upon separation of business relationships?

Artificial intelligence

32 Please describe your artificial intelligence (AI) stack for your organization.

33 Please provide a description of any AI services used as part of your product, include model/s used, and how MBTA data is handled throughout the process.

34 Do you use AI or automation tools that interact with sensitive customer data? If yes, how do you ensure these tools are secure?

35 Do you plan to implement and/or use AI within your environment during the length of this proposed contract? (Yes/No) If yes, please explain.

36 List your policies or other documentation that provides guidance on data privacy, bias, and exposure/breach/corruption when working with AI models?

37 Please describe how MBTA information assets are handled and stored in relation to vendor AI capabilities.

38 Do your AI capabilities need to integrate with other MBTA information assets? If yes, please describe the nature of access, and how that impacts the sharing and use of MBTA data.

39 Do you contract out work to sub-vendors who utilize AI tools when working with MBTA data. If yes, please explain.

40 Describe the tools used, the vendor review process for those tools, and how MBTA information assets could be handled by those tools.

41 Please describe the monitoring process for any AI tools that could impact MBTA information assets regarding data drift and data bias.

Maintenance, warranty, and support

42 What are preventative maintenance requirements for you on vehicle and fixed location systems?

Please be sure to specify the preventative maintenance details and the recommended frequency.

43 What are the common/known corrective maintenance issues that apply to you on vehicle and fixed location systems? Please describe them in detail.

44 Do you provide maintenance services, or are customers required to maintain their own systems?

45 What type of help/IT support system is in place if clients or users experience issues with the ticket management software, or with the automated enforcement hardware?

https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2024/Chapter363 https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2024/Chapter363

46 What warranties apply to your system's hardware? And what is the Mean Time Between failure (MTBF) specifications for all components?

47 Is there any bench testing equipment required to operate and maintain your solution? If so, would that equipment be provided?

48 What is the cost model associated with your software and firmware and feature upgrades? For example, is there continuous deployment of new firmware and features? If so, is that done seamlessly in the background, or does that require staff to manually update software unit by unit?

Are there costs associated with security updates and new features? How is firmware version control managed?

Pricing

49 Please provide indicative pricing models for hardware costs per bus-vehicle and per fixed location installation, including replacement costs for damaged or faulty system components, estimated hardware lifecycle and replacement costs, preventative and corrective maintenance, and any hardware warranty details applicable.

50 Please provide pricing models for administrative costs, software, ongoing operational needs on a per bus-vehicle scalable rate (i.e. cost for administering program on a per-bus vehicle rate).

51 Please provide pricing information for one-time and any ongoing/recurring costs associated with integrating your system’s hardware with a separate ticket management platform.

52 What is your model for implementation and training, and what are representative implementation and training costs?

53 Please describe the ownership and licensing model for your system, including software code, hardware, and the data the MBTA would store in your system.

54 Is your solution available through software resellers? If yes, please indicate the resellers that you currently work with. If no, please indicate if you would consider working with a reseller.

Software accessibility

55 Is your solution and included documentation compliant with the following: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1, levels A and AA? If not, in what areas is the solution noncompliant?

56 Does your solution have a completed Accessibility Compliance Report (ACR) from the latest version of the VPAT 2.1 (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) or equivalent? If so, does the ACR include reporting for WCAG 2.1 levels A and AA (AAA optional) and Functional Performance Criteria (Section 508 requirements)?

3. Next Steps

Upon receipt of responses, the MBTA may request additional information or demonstration of system capability through email or virtual meeting.

Responses to this RFI will be used to understand current capabilities and determine the merits of moving forward with a Request for Proposal (RFP). If the decision is to move forward, the MBTA will develop and refine business requirements by late Summer 2025. Any RFP will be posted on COMMBUYS, and the MBTA will endeavor to notify all companies that respond to this RFI.

4. RFI Calendar

Procurement Activity Date Time

RFI Issued/Published 4/2/25 5 pm Eastern Standard

Time

Responders Teleconference

(optional)

4/9/25 2 pm Eastern

Standard Time

Deadline for Submission of Questions through COMMBUYS “Bid Q&A”

4/11/25 5 pm Eastern Standard

Time

Response to Questions Posted in

COMMBUYs by MBTA

4/16/25 5 pm Eastern Standard

Time

Deadline for RFI Response Submittal

(responses not allowed after this time)

4/25/25 5 pm Eastern Standard

Time

Responders are required to monitor COMMBUYS for changes to the RFI calendar for this Bid.

Teleconference Meeting (info and link below)

Join the meeting now

Microsoft Teams

Meeting ID: 233 297 834 033

Passcode: yg3rG7Ez https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZTA0ZTAzN2ItNjIzMS00MWM1LTkyMjMtYmU1ZDg4YzA3ZTAz%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%227558e599-f006-481f-9717-b189e6730862%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%227b05458e-051d-4546-9730-c0443c4ab1f3%22%7d

1. Online Questions (Bid Q&A)

Written Questions must be entered through the “Bid Q&A” tab for the Bid in COMMBUYS no later than the Questions Due date and time indicated in the RFI Calendar (above). The MBTA reserves the right not to respond to questions submitted after this date. It is the Responder’s responsibility to verify questions were successfully posted on COMMBUYS.

Written Responses to Questions will be posted on the Bid Q&A Tab in COMMBUYS on or about the

“Response to Questions Posted Online” date indicated in the RFI Calendar (above).

5. RFI Attachments

Design manuals, guidelines, and maintenance standards for work on MBTA projects have been collected here for design consultants and project managers.

https://www.mbta.com/engineering https://www.mbta.com/engineering