RFP 23-026 - Survey Services - Instructions For Proposers Part 1-4 with Exhibits - Final.pdf

SALEM AREA MASS TRANSIT DISTRICT

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP #23-026

SURVEY SERVICES

Date Issued: June 5, 2023

Pre-Proposal Conference: June 16, 2023 9:00 AM PDT * Non-Mandatory *

Requests for Question Deadline: June 20, 2023 4:00PM PDT

Response to Questions: June 23, 2023 5:00PM PDT

Proposal Closes & Responses Due: July 11, 2023 4:00PM PDT

Project Manager: Patricia Feeny, Chief Communications Officer

Procurement Contact Charleen McCurdy, Contract / Procurement Analyst

Submit Proposal: Salem Area Mass Transit District Procurement & Contracts Department 555 Court Street NE, Suite 5230 Salem, Oregon 97301

Salem Area Mass Transit District (SAMTD) Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

TABLE OF CONTENTS

RFP 23-026

SECTION NO OF PAGES

1. RFP COVER PAGE

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………. 1

3. PART 1 – INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS ……………………….

4. PART 2 – SCOPE AND SPECIFICATIONS …………………………..

ATTACHMENT A ………………………………………..

ATTACHMENT B ………………………………………..

ATTACHMENT C………………………………………..

ATTACHMENT D………………………………………..

5. PART 3 – EXHIBITS 1-12 PROPOSAL FORMS …………………… 18

6. PART 3 – EXHIBIT 13 PRICE PROPOSAL FORM ……………..…..

(ATTACHED SEPARATELY)

7. PART 3 – EXHIBIT 14 REFERENCES ………………………………..

(ATTACHED SEPARATELY)

8. PART 4 - EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS……………………………. 1

9. EXHIBIT B - SAMPLE CONTRACT ……….………………………….. 17

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

PART 1

INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS

SALEM AREA MASS TRANSIT DISTRICT

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

RFP No. 23-026

Issue Date: June 5, 2023 Proposal Due: July 11, 2023 Time: 4:00 PM PDT

SAMTD OVERVIEW

Salem Area Mass Transit District (SAMTD) is the public transportation agency operating fixed-route, regional express, and paratransit service in the urban growth boundary of the Salem-Keizer area, as well as Marion and Polk counties. SAMTD services include Cherriots Local, Cherriots Regional, Cherriots LIFT (paratransit service), Cherriots Shop and Ride, Travel Training, and Transportation Options, which promotes additional services such as carpool and vanpool matching.

SAMTD operates 64 local buses, 43 paratransit buses (Cherriots LIFT), 15 regional buses (Cherriots Regional), and five shopper shuttles. Most SAMTD services operate seven days a week.

SAMTD Locations:

Administrative Offices General Manager, Finance, Customer Service, Marketing, Human Resources and part of the Operations Division are located at:

555 Court St N.E., Suite 5230 Salem, OR 97301

Operations, Contracted Services, and Maintenance Del Webb Facility 3140 Del Webb Ave.

Salem, OR 97301 The Del Webb facility also includes the parking area for buses not in service.

Keizer Transit Center 5860 Keizer Station Blvd., N.E.

Keizer, OR 97303

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION

SAMTD is soliciting Requests for Proposals for professional Survey Services. Contractor to develop and conduct a variety of annual, semi-annual, and periodic surveys. The purpose of the surveys is to obtain opinions about SAMTD as an employer, as well as customer and community opinions about the value and quality of SAMTD’s services. A resultant contract will include the scope of services and specifications and all work as identified in PART 2 of this solicitation. No set amount of work is guaranteed.

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

Successful Proposer shall be licensed by the State of Oregon to do the work required under this contract.

Successful Proposer shall obtain and maintain in current status all applicable permits and licenses.

For Scope and Specifications for this project, please see PART 2 of this RFP.

SECTION 2: PROJECT MILESTONES

• Notice To Proceed to successful contractor – September 2023 (estimate)

• Substantial contract completion by – August 31, 2026 (estimate – base term of contract)

• Final contract completion by – August 31, 2030 (estimate – inclusive of all option years)

SECTION 3: INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSER

1. A. Proposal Submission Requirements

Response shall be submitted in a sealed envelope / container to the following address and clearly marked “RFP 23-026 Survey Services”.

Proposals must be submitted as follows:

1. One (1) original and four (4) copies of the response and proposal documents. One (1) copy must be unbound for ease of photocopy reproduction.

One (1) copy of the price proposal in a separate, sealed envelope marked, “Price Proposal.”

(See Exhibit 13 - Price Proposal Form)

* See Item #6 below for acceptable alternative methods.

2. One (1) electronic PDF format version of the response and proposal documents on a USB flash drive.

3. Digital signatures on forms are permitted.

4. Submit with a cover letter to:

Charleen McCurdy Procurement & Contracts Analyst Salem Area Mass Transit District 555 Court St., NE, Suite 5230 Salem, Oregon 97301

5. In the event of any conflicts between the hard copy and the electronic copy, the hard copy will prevail.

6. COVID-19 Considerations:

An email submission with electronic signatures submitted on or before the proposal close date and time will be accepted and considered a timely response to our solicitation. Electronic submissions shall be emailed to: procurement@cherriots.org mailto:procurement@cherriots.org

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

SAMTD will also accept an electronic formatted version (thumb drive preferred) of the proposal documents, which are received at the SAMTD office on or before the proposal close date and time, and this submission will also be accepted and considered a timely response to our solicitation.

Additionally, SAMTD will also accept hard copy proposals that are received on or before the proposal close date, however an electronic formatted version is also required. Proposals delivered via US Mail can continue to be sent to the address identified in the solicitation.

Proposals must be received by SAMTD by 4:00 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time, July 11, 2023.

Late submittals will not be considered.

B. Accommodation For People With Disabilities – People with disabilities who wish to request special accommodation, (e.g., sign language interpreters, Braille, etc.) need to contact SAMTD seven (7) working days prior to the scheduled proposal opening.

C. Exceptions / Modifications To Drawings And Specifications – Proposer may not take exception to, or modify any part of, the Sample Contract, Drawings or Specifications.

D. Right of Rejection / Cancellation and Irregularities – SAMTD reserves the right to reject any or all Proposals, or part thereof, to accept one or more items of a proposal without obligation as to other items. SAMTD reserves the right to cancel this RFP/solicitation at any time without liability prior to execution of a contract by SAMTD if it is in SAMTD’s or the public's best interest. Under no circumstances will SAMTD be liable for any costs the firm incurs while preparing or presenting the proposal. All Proposals will become part of the public file without obligation to SAMTD. SAMTD enforces the right to wave irregularities anytime through the solicitation process.

E. Late Proposals – Proposals submitted or received after the date and time indicated herein shall not be accepted without a prior extension of the closing date or time by SAMTD. Requests for extensions of the proposal closing date or time must be requested prior to the deadline for receipt of Proposer questions noted above. Timely requests will be considered, but SAMTD reserves the right to extend the due date or decline to extend the due date at its sole discretion.

F. One Proposal; Partial Proposals – A Proposer may not submit more than one (1) Proposal in response to this solicitation. No partially completed Proposals will be accepted and will be rejected if not properly completed based on the solicitation guidelines.

G. Single-Proposer Responsibility – Single-Proposer responsibility is required under this RFP. Each

Proposer responding to this RFP must propose all professional services/goods and provide all materials, equipment, supplies, transportation, freight, special services, and other work described or otherwise required herein for each project task.

H. Withdrawal or Modification of Proposals – Proposals shall not be modified after the closing date and time for Proposal submittal. Proposals may be withdrawn by Proposer before Proposal closing date and time as specified within this solicitation.

I. Requests for Clarification or Modification – All requests for clarification or modification of the

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

RFP shall be made in accordance with PART 1, Section 3, subsection 13 of this RFP.

J. Required Forms – If a form does not apply to your business or Proposal, please mark the form “Not Applicable.” Sign and date each form. Some forms may require notarization. Failure to complete all forms will result in the Proposal being ruled nonresponsive. Nonresponsive Proposals will not be evaluated or awarded a contract.

K. Addenda – Modifications to this RFP shall be made only by addenda to the solicitation. Verbal or faxed instructions, interpretations, and changes shall not serve as official expressions of SAMTD and shall not be binding. All cost adjustments or other changes resulting from said addenda shall be taken into consideration by Proposer and included in their Proposals. All addenda issued by SAMTD shall be acknowledged by Proposer on the Acknowledgement of Addenda form.

L. Experience and Qualifications (REQUIRED) – Proposer must demonstrate to the satisfaction of

SAMTD that it possess the qualifications, experience, skill, licenses, necessary facilities, and financial resources required to perform the contract services in a satisfactory manner and within the required time.

1. Introduction or Cover Letter: Provide a brief introduction of the Proposer, and/or an introduction of all members who may be involved in the contract resulting from this RFP.

Describe primary business experience of the Proposer, length of time in business, organizational structure, size, capabilities, financial ability of Proposer to fulfill obligations of resultant contract award, ownership, the location of office(s), telephone number, email address, web-address, and any other information that the Proposer deems pertinent and introductory in nature.

2. Qualifications of Proposer: The Proposer shall describe its knowledge and past project experience relevant to SAMTD’s needs as listed in the Scope and Specifications in PART 2 of this RFP, including the Proposer’s direct experience on projects of similar size, scope and complexity.

M. Ambiguity in Specifications – Proposer shall promptly notify the SAMTD Procurement Manager at the address listed in PART 1, Section 3, subsection 1.A of this RFP, of any ambiguity, inconsistency, or error that it may discover upon examination of the Proposal documents within the time limits for Requests for Clarifications in Section 13.

N. DBE (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) – SAMTD has an overall agency goal of 2.49 percent for the utilization of DBEs using race neutral means. SAMTD strongly encourages and expects Proposer to pursue subcontracting, mentoring, joint venturing, teaming, and partnering opportunities with DBE firms in the ordinary course of its business/teaming strategies. Proposers are encouraged and expected to create a level playing field to the maximum practical extent, consistent with the objectives and requirements of the SAMTD DBE Program, which is based on federal regulations codified at 49 CFR Part 26. The DBE participation goal applies to the total value of the contract including the results of all pre-award negotiations and post-award change orders/modifications.

SAMTD’s DBE Program and Policy may be accessed at www.Cherriots.org/en/about-us/procurement.

http://www.cherriots.org/en/about-us/procurement http://www.cherriots.org/en/about-us/procurement

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

O. Substitution of Materials – BASE PROPOSAL MUST BE BASED UPON SPECIFIED MATERIALS. Substitution of materials from those specified must be requested in accordance with the detailed requirements found in the Project Specifications. For the substitutions to be considered the Proposal Form must be accompanied by an alternate price and a detailed description, with drawings and manufacturer’s written specifications as may be necessary, on a separate form which fully describes the proposed alternate methods and materials.

P. Contractor’s License Law & Bond Requirements – Proposer shall comply with, and require all of their subcontractors to comply with Federal, State, County, and City contractor’s licensing laws, and be duly registered and licensed thereunder. Proposer shall provide a performance bond and a labor and material payment bond, each in the amount of (100%) of the subcontract price unless otherwise noted in the individual Proposal package.

Note: A Performance Bond and a Payment Bond is not required for this solicitation.

Q. Solicitation and Attachments – The Solicitation and any attachment or exhibit to this RFP will be incorporated into and made a part of the resulting Contract. In the event of a conflict between the provisions contained in the body of this RFP, the solicitation, and any attachment or exhibit, the terms in the body of the resulting Contract will control.

R. Waiver of Liens – The Proposer is responsible for the payment of all bills for labor and materials furnished by, or to, their subcontractors and itself. Upon presentation of the billing, subcontractor shall certify that they are submitting such lien waivers for all of their lower tier subcontractors and material suppliers that have furnished services or materials for the previous billing period. A Bond in lieu of Waivers will not be satisfactory.

S. Subcontractor’s Agreement – In submitting this Proposal, the Proposer hereby agrees, if awarded a Contract, to enter into and execute SAMTD’s standard form of contract agreement.

T. Value Engineering – Base Proposal MUST be based upon specified materials. However, Proposer are encouraged to submit value engineering cost Proposals for SAMTD’s review. These items can be submitted on the Proposal Form and clearly marked “Value Engineering Ideas.”

U. Protest – Duty to Exhaust Local Procedures. Once the Contractor exhausts SAMTD’s protest procedures, as described in applicable SAMTD Procurement Policy, the Contractor may request review from the FTA. Protests shall only be accepted from participating Proposer and must be submitted in writing and in a timely fashion, in accordance with SAMTD’s formal protest procedures.

SAMTD’s formal protest procedures may be requested by contacting SAMTD Procurement by telephone at 503-588-2424.

V. Certification – By submitting its Proposal, Proposer certifies that it is in compliance with the State of Oregon statutory requirements governing registration of corporations and/or assumed business names. Further, by submitting its Proposal, Proposer certifies that it is, and that its subcontractors are, in compliance with the State of Oregon statutory requirements governing registration of with the Oregon Construction Contractors Board.

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

2. PREPARATION OF PROPOSAL

A. Proposals must be:

(i) Submitted on the Proposal forms, or copies of forms, furnished by SAMTD, and

(ii) Signed. If the Proposal is made by a corporation, it shall be signed by the corporation’s authorized designee.

(iii) The address of the Proposer shall be typed or printed on the Proposal in the space provided.

B. The Proposal may require Proposer to submit prices for one or more items, including: (1) lump sum proposal; (2) lump sum Proposal alternate prices; (3) unit prices; or (4) any combination of items (1) through (3) above.

C. SAMTD requires proposing on all items (including alternates and unit prices). Failure to do so may disqualify the proposal. If proposing on all items is not required by the specific proposal package documents, Proposer should insert the words “NO PROPOSAL” in the space provided for any item on which no price is to be submitted.

D. Proposer MUST comply with the requirements in the Proposal Documents. Modifying the proposal forms, conditioning or limiting the proposal, or offering to perform work not requested by the Proposal Documents will disqualify the proposal.

E. Proposer must submit the most recent two (2) years of audited financial statements. This information, along with the proposal documents, will be utilized to provide SAMTD information that will lead to a financial ability to perform determination. Financial statements may include P&L Statements, Income Statements, Balance Sheets, Tax Returns, and other company information that may help SAMTD make a financial ability to perform a resultant contract determination.

3. BASE PROPOSAL

The Proposer agrees to hold all pricing for period of one-hundred twenty (120) days from the date of the proposal opening.

4. ADDITIVE OR DEDUCTIVE PROPOSAL ITEMS

The Proposer agrees to hold all alternate and unit prices for one-hundred twenty (120) days from the date of the proposal opening.

5. SITE INVESTIGATION AND CONDITIONS AFFECTING THE WORK

By submitting this proposal, the Proposer acknowledges that it has taken steps necessary to ascertain the nature and location of the work, and that it has investigated and satisfied itself as to the general and local conditions which can affect the work or its cost, including but not limited to: (1) conditions bearing upon transportation, handling, and storage of materials; (2) the availability of labor, material, equipment, and roadways; (3) uncertainties of weather, river stages, tides, ground water, or similar climatic and/or physical conditions that may have impact; (4) the conformation and conditions of the ground; (5) the character of equipment and facilities needed preliminary to and during the work; (6) compliance with the project quality control program; and (7) compliance with the Proposer’s safety plan as approved by

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

SAMTD, and all applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations for work performed on site.

The Proposer also acknowledges that it has satisfied itself as to character, quality, and quantity of materials or obstacles to be encountered. Any failure of the Proposer to take the actions described and acknowledged in this paragraph will not relieve the Proposer from responsibility for estimating properly the difficulty and cost of successfully performing the work.

6. PROPOSAL AMOUNT

The Proposer acknowledges that the details of the specifications accurately reflect the Scope of the Work on which the Proposer is submitting its proposal. Proposer should base their proposal pricing amounts on the following elements:

All labor, material, equipment, overhead, and compensation to complete all of the work under each particular heading as shown in the Proposal Documents at the time of proposal.

Travel Costs. Any travel costs associated with the Proposal shall be incorporated into the Price Proposal. This includes lodging, meals, transportation, and tips. SAMTD shall not pay travel costs.

SAMTD is not subject to taxation; no federal or other taxes (excise, luxury, transportation, sales, etc.)

shall be added to proposal amount.

7. PROPOSAL RESULTS

Following the issuance of the Notice of Intent to Award resulting Contract, SAMTD will provide the following information to interested parties upon request:

A. The number of Proposals SAMTD received;

B. The name of the successful Proposer;

C. A summary of the evaluations; and D. The total resulting contract price, including descriptions of items, quantities, and unit prices, if practical.

SAMTD will attempt to give notice under this paragraph promptly after the Notice of Intent to Award.

SAMTD’s failure to give such notice shall not be deemed to affect the validity of the resulting contract.

8. CONTRACT AWARD

A. RESPONSIVENESS OF PROPOSAL

A proposal will be considered responsive if it meets the following requirements:

1. Is received at the proper date and time.

2. Meets the stated requirements of the proposal form.

3. Exhibits #1 - #14 under this solicitation are all completed and returned with the proposal.

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

4. Proposal is prepared and submitted in accordance with PART 1, Section 3, subsection 2 “Preparation of Proposal.”

5. The Contractor is licensed/registered within the State of Oregon at the time of proposal due date and is not banned from proposing by the Bureau of Labor and Industries.

6. The proposal is accompanied by a proposal guarantee, if required. Note: not required.

7. Complies with the State of Oregon and Federal requirements as applicable.

8. Demonstrated ability to comply with schedule.

9. Demonstrates performance of similar projects relative to size, schedule, etc.

10. Demonstrates the management resources and financial capacity to effect performance of the work.

B. APPARENT SUCCESSFUL PROPOSER

The apparent successful Proposer, for purpose of award, shall be the highest scoring responsive and responsible Proposer inclusive of additive or deductive proposal alternates and within the funds available for the project.

C. PROPOSAL SELECTION PROCESS

The successful Proposer shall be selected on the basis of having submitted a responsive and responsible proposal for this proposal package, and meeting the other requirements established in PART 4 and the other requirements of the proposal documents.

D. EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CONTRACT

SAMTD will notify the successful Proposer and provide the successful Proposer with a written Notice of Intent to Award Contract. The successful Proposer shall return a signed copy of the Contract as well as all other documents required to be signed or provided such as bonds, insurance certificates, etc. The Contract will only become effective when all parties sign the contract and the Proposer provides all other documents required to be signed or provided such as bonds, insurance certificates, etc. Work performed and all costs incurred prior to SAMTD signature shall be the sole responsibility of the Proposer.

E. PAYMENT AND PERFORMANCE BONDS

“Reserved” for this solicitation.

F. PROMPT PAY ACT

All Proposer must comply with the applicable Prompt Payment Act provisions, if selected. Failure to do so will be considered a material breach of contract.

9. MINIMUM WAGE AND PREVAILING WAGE REQUIREMENTS

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

10. APPLICABILITY OF RESULTING CONTRACT

“Reserved” for this solicitation

11. PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS

The following documents form a part of and are included in the Proposal Documents:

A. Proposal Solicitation Documents Complete.

B. Sample Contract C. Scope, Drawings, and Specifications for the Project.

D. Project Schedule Milestone Dates.

12. SCHEDULE OF PROPOSAL PROCEDURES

The anticipated project procurement timetable is as follows for Proposal Solicitation RFP 23-026

SURVEY SERVICES:

Date Issued: June 5, 2023 Pre-Proposal Conference: June 16, 2023 9:00 AM PDT (Mill Creek Conf. Rm.)

Pre-Proposal Conference is *Non Mandatory* Request for Questions Deadline June 20, 2023 4:00 PM PDT Response to Questions: June 23, 2023 5:00 PM PDT Proposal Closes: July 11, 2023 4:00 PM PDT

13. QUESTIONS, CLARIFICATIONS AND CHANGES TO RFP

SAMTD reserves the right to make changes to the RFP. All changes to the RFP, prior to the receipt of Proposals, shall be electronically distributed through addendum. Failure to acknowledge receipt of an addendum may cause a proposal to be rejected as non-responsive. Following receipt of a Proposal, any changes to SAMTD’s RFP will be conveyed in writing by SAMTD to the Proposers determined to be Responsive to solicitation requirements.

Proposer may submit questions, request clarification, or request a change to the RFP and contract documents by submitting a written request to Charleen McCurdy, Contract / Procurement Analyst at the address set forth above in PART 1, Section 3, subsection 1.A.(4) or via email procurement@cherriots.org. The request shall specify the provision of the RFP in question, and, if a change is requested, contain an explanation for the requested change. Where applicable, the Proposer is required to provide the value of each proposed modification and a brief explanation as to why the change is requested. Value shall be defined as any cost or savings to SAMTD and the advantage to SAMTD of the proposed change.

Questions, clarification requests, RFP and/or Contract change requests must be received by June 20, 2023, at 4:00 PM PDT. SAMTD will evaluate any question or request submitted, but reserves the right to determine whether to respond or accept the requested change.

mailto:procurement@cherriots.org

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

Proposer shall not rely on oral or written representations regarding this RFP unless issued in writing as an addendum by the SAMTD Procurement & Contracts Department.

14. PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE – NON-MANDATORY

A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held on June 16, 2023, at 9:00 AM PDT. In person and via Teleconference. Suppliers who are considering proposing for this solicitation are strongly encouraged to attend. Statements made by SAMTD at the Pre-Proposal conference are not binding upon SAMTD unless confirmed by written Addendum.

To attend in person:

Salem Area Mass Transit District Mill Creek Conference Room 555 Court Street NE, Suite 5230 Salem, Oregon 97301

To participate via teleconference:

To access via video:

https://meet.google.com/ovi-ward-xgc

To access via telephone:

(US)+1 620-392-0843

PIN: 226 270 259#

15. SITE VISITATION & VIEWING

END OF PART 1

https://meet.google.com/ovi-ward-xgc

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

PART 2

SCOPE AND SPECIFICATIONS

Salem Area Mass Transit District (SAMTD) wishes to retain the services of a professional services firm to develop and conduct a variety of annual, semi-annual, and periodic surveys. The purpose of the surveys is to obtain employee opinions about SAMTD as an employer and customer and community opinions about the value and quality SAMTD’s services.

Scope of Work – General With a new vision, mission, refined and additional values, SAMTD is in a better position to engage our employees and serve our community. Gathering information from employees, customers, and the commu-nity will assist SAMTD in determining where the agency is successfully meeting their needs and expecta-tions, and where the agency can make improvements.

While the expertise of the selected firm will be recognized, SAMTD will be an active partner in the design of each survey tool and each project as a whole.

The following are the criteria for the survey(s):

• Design and produce survey instrument for intercept and telephone interviews

• Conduct interviews in both English and Spanish

• Specify sample size options, identify how samples will be selected and provide specific information regarding the confidence level of the data

• Provide data compilation and analysis

Deliverables

• Written, final report with executive summary

• 5 copies of executive summary and final report

• Presentation to Executive Staff followed by presentation to Board of Directors, if specified with a survey

Project Timeline

• Conduct Employee Engagement Survey – annually – April (beginning 2024)

• Conduct Customer Satisfaction Survey – annually - October (beginning 2023)

• Conduct Community Value Survey – annually - October (beginning 2023)

• Conduct Rider Survey – Once every two years (beginning 2023)

• Conduct 100 % Ride Check – Once every three years (beginning 2026)

These projects may have varying differences depending on requirements, including the need for in-person interviews/surveys.

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

1. Employee Engagement Survey Contractor will collaborate with Cherriots to conduct an employee engagement survey that will feed Cher-riots Organizational Performance Scorecard by measuring outcomes of employee engagement efforts. This will include:

• Statistically valid sampling plan customized to Cherriots full time employee workforce

• Employee Survey to obtain updated measure of employee engagement levels with Cherriots service

• Development of employee survey results presented in the format of presentation to Executive Lead-ership Team.

Contractor will develop a survey instrument that will provide actionable insights and seek to effectively measure perceptions of employee satisfaction and engagement. A sampling plan will be developed that assures a statistically valid and representative sample of employees is collected. A draft of the survey instrument (in word format) will be provided for Cherriots review. Once content has been signed off on the survey will be placed in Alchemer (online survey tool that will be used to collect employee responses) and a draft link will be provided for final Cherriots review.

Contractor will coordinate with Cherriots to support the execution of the survey. Contractor will develop a flyer with a QR code for posting throughout high traffic locations. Hard copies of the survey instrument will also be made available for distribution to agency employees that do not have access to a Cherriots email.

Contractor will tabulate and analyze the survey results and complete a comprehensive analysis. Key find-ings will be documented. Contractor staff will present results with the Cherriots leadership team.

• Discovery interviews with HR Division/Leadership to assess changes to survey process

• Development of Survey Instrument (paper copy and digital version)

• Support for Survey Execution including QR code, flyers, and draft distribution letter/e-mail language

• Analysis of survey results (including coding paper copy surveys)

• Development of draft presentation results

• Presentation of results

• Delivery of Final presentation of results

• Optional – Contractor can supply tablets for surveys to be executed to bypass paper surveys

2. Customer Satisfaction Survey

This task is focused on collecting key information essential to monitoring progress towards the success outcomes defined in your 2022 Strategic Plan scorecard. The purpose of this task is to measure fixed route, paratransit and regional service customers’ impressions of SAMTD service.

Contractor will work with Cherriots to develop a survey questionnaire for each mode using an industry benchmark questionnaire and feedback from previous surveys (if any). Contractor will also make sure sur-vey questions are aligned with data needs to populate Cherriots TransDash dashboard. Cherriots staff will review the draft instruments and may add up to 6 agency specific questions if desired. A final survey instru-ment will be submitted to Cherriots staff for approval.

Deliverables:

• Draft Survey Instrument

• Final Survey Instrument

Contractor will collect a statistically valid sample for Cherriots fixed route customers, onboard buses and at transit stops/stations while in the process of using the service to gain their impressions of your service.

Contractor will collect a representative sample of Cherry LIFT customers, and will collect a representative

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026 sampling onboard the vehicles and at regional service boarding and alighting locations. A team of surveyors will be conducting surveys using tablets in a randomized fashion over a period of 5-8 days.

Samples will be normalized by route, time of day, and day of week based on ridership. Contractor recom-mends offering fixed route customers a One-Day Pass as an incentive for completing the survey (to be supplied by SAMTD).

Contractor will conduct data validation and cleaning procedures in real-time and immediately following the completion of the survey to disqualify any responses that may be incomplete or unacceptable. For example, if 90% of customers complete the survey in 7 minutes and there are some submissions that were completed in 2 minutes, Contractor may wish to exclude those from the results. Other common issues that Contractor check for include:

• Straight lining (e.g., always selecting the first response), or creating a pattern with their responses

• Writing gibberish in open text questions

• Creating fake answers

• Inconsistently answering consistency check questions

• Selecting all checkboxes

• Selecting only a single checkbox

Deliverables:

• Completion of customer experience surveys

• On-site field training with on-board survey team members

• On-site problem resolution services/coordination with Cherriots team

• On-site quality control of survey execution efforts

Contractor will develop a report that communicates findings and observations utilizing compelling graphic design and narrative to distill insights from complex data. Contractor will also work with staff to identify operational metrics, notable events or initiatives that took place before or during the survey period, and other information that can provide additional insight into the results and recommendations. Key data points for discussion include the Customer Net Promoter Score, Overall Customer Satisfaction, and satisfaction levels with the most important elements of service to customers. Contractor will provide clear recommen-dations with action steps for the agency to improve operational performance and impressions of service.

Deliverables:

• Draft Report of Customer Satisfaction results

• Final Report on Customer Satisfaction results incorporating comments from the Cherriots ELT.

Contractor will be available to support Cherriots in presenting findings and recommendations, to members of ELT team and/or Board of Directors.

Deliverable:

• Presentation of survey results

3. Community Value Survey The survey process will gather qualitative data from key stakeholders and quantitative data from the com-munity at-large. Contractor will partner with Cherriots to design the instrument consistent with the needs of the agency, analyze the results, and present opportunities for improvement to the Executive Management Team and Board of Directors.

A. Contractor will develop a draft community survey instrument. In addition to including questions that will directly feed the Cherriots 2022 Strategic Plan performance scorecard, the survey questions will in-clude, but are not limited to, the community’s perceptions of:

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

• Transit’s most important contribution to the Salem-Keizer region

• Value of Cherriots to the community across a variety of dimensions (access, economic devel-opment, mobility, health, environment, etc.)

• Willingness to fund and support Cherriots services

• Overall perception of Cherriots effectiveness

The survey will be designed to be no longer than 10 minutes to complete and include benchmarking ques-tions that allow a comparison between SAMTD and other similar transit agencies across the country. It will also be compatible with Cherriots TransDash dashboard.

Deliverables:

• Draft Survey Instrument

• Final Survey Instrument

B. Surveys will be administered using a methodology that maximizes the representativeness of the survey and increases response rates. This will include telephone surveys conducted using both cell phone and landline telephone numbers.

• Execution of community survey

C. After the survey has closed, Contractor will weigh the data by key demographic characteristics to ensure that the results are representative of the Salem-Keizer region population. Contractor will analyze the data and provide a detailed report to Cherriots ELT.

• Community Survey Report of Findings

D. Contractor will work with Cherriots Communication Division to develop a presentation, including the most pertinent information, and present the results and recommended actions in up to three (3) unique settings at Cherriots direction.

• Support the presentation of results for up to three community organizational events (up to 3)

4. Rider Survey Introduction Design, administer and analyze the results of a comprehensive survey of public transit passengers in the Cherriots service area. The on-board survey (the Survey) will encompass all fixed-route bus services oper-ated by, or under the contract oversight of Cherriots except the Monmouth-Independence Trolley.

Goals and objectives Cherriots is undertaking the Survey to accomplish the following primary objectives:

1. Collect a statistically significant number of surveys from existing Cherriots Local and Cherriots Regional transit customers.

2. Survey results will be used to assess changes in the ridership profile of transit passengers by comparing the Survey results with those from the 2021 on-board survey. Therefore, the Survey should ask similar questions to those in the 2021 survey.

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

3. Survey results will be used to meet the Title VI Civil Rights Requirements per the Federal Transit Ad-ministration guidance. The SAMTD Title VI Program and its associated policies will be updated using the new survey data, as applicable.

SAMTD interests go well beyond transit riders as a single group; they include a variety of rider subgroups differentiated by the particular transit services they use, their travel behaviors, and their demographic char-acteristics. Survey results will be used by transit planners to design better transit services and fare struc-tures, by marketing staff to better focus informational and promotional campaigns toward potential new riders, and by communication managers to articulate the positive effects of the public transportation system to the larger community.

Over the course of this project, the selected Consultant will receive direction from, and frequently interact with, SAMTD Planning staff. The SAMTD Service Planning Manager will be responsible for review and approval of project deliverables required from the Consultant at significant project milestones, and for day-to-day oversight of the Consultant’s performance of the following tasks.

TASKS

Task 1- Prepare Project Management Plan Within four weeks following issuance of a Notice to Proceed by SAMTD, the selected Consultant will be expected to submit a comprehensive draft Project Management Plan (PMP) for review and approval by the Service Planning Manager. The PMP must provide a definitive framework for conducting the survey, includ-ing, but not necessarily limited to the following elements:

• A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) of technical work that reflects the Consultant’s approach, meth-ods and practices, personnel, and other resources that will be used to achieve desired project out-comes.

• A sampling plan that identifies which data elements are to be collected from various rider subgroups, what the results will attain in terms of confidence and margin of error thresholds, and how statistical validity will be ensured for all data collected by the Consultant. The sampling plan will meet or ex-ceed all requirements discussed in Subtask 1.1

• A task-driven budget.

• A detailed data expansion methodology which documents the statistical methods that will be used to expand the survey results.

• A detailed implementation schedule that indicates how project activities will be sequenced, when key milestones will be reached, and when deliverables will be submitted. The Consultant’s project implementation schedule will be reviewed monthly by the Service Planning Manager as part of the invoicing and payment approval process. The format should be compatible with Smartsheets (go to smartsheet.com) Gantt Chart view.

• A staffing plan that identifies the Consultant’s project organizational structure, key management personnel, including a designated Project Manager and a Quality Assurance Coordinator, and de-scriptions of supervisory capacity and staff, data collection, and data processing personnel re-sources.

• The staffing plan will meet or exceed all requirements discussed in Subtask 1.2

• The Consultant’s statement of intent to document and implement a highly effective quality assur-ance/quality control (QA/QC) effort in conjunction with data collection and handling activities. The minimum requirements for a written QA/QC plan are discussed in Task 3 of the project work scope.

The QA/QC plan will be subject to review and approval by the Service Planning Manager prior to commencement of the Consultant’s data collection activities.

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026

• In cooperation with Cherriots Planning staff, a Risk Avoidance and Mitigation plan shall be devel-oped that will identify risks associated with a typical survey effort and methods to avoid or mitigate those risks.

A risk register shall identify the following at a minimum:

o Risk description, root cause, date identified, severity, likelihood, and category (technical, project management, market, external, and organizational), impact (schedule, budget, scope, quality), risk owner, and risk response strategy.

The selected Consultant will be expected to work closely with the Cherriots project manager during this task to develop an effective PMP that defines mutually acceptable administrative and reporting standards, invoicing procedures, schedule and budget status, progress report format, project deliverables, and related materials.

Subtask 1.1 – Develop a Sampling Plan The Consultant will prepare a detailed sampling plan that fulfills Cherriots stated objectives and addresses the requirements indicated in this section. The Consultant will use current average daily ridership counts from FY23 and current average daily ridership for weekends as the basis for calculating the sample sizes necessary to obtain the specified confidence interval, margin of error, and standard deviation assumed for the various rider subgroups identified in this section. The sample size is expected to reflect a margin of error of +/- 3%, a 95% confidence level, and a standard deviation of 0.5. For a daily ridership of 13,000, this comes to approximately 1,000 surveys collected over the total system. Detailed numbers are included in Attachment A.

The sampling plan shall detail proposed sampling for the survey. The survey sample will include all fixed routes, including both Local and Regional routes. Cherriots currently operates Local routes seven days a week and Regional routes Monday through Saturday.

This survey should be conducted primarily using tablet computers for increased accuracy, though the Con-sultant may also recommend a paper survey approach for routes with very low sample requirements to make efficient use of survey staff and equipment. In the proposal, the Consultant shall first assume the administration of a pilot survey to test the survey. The minimum number of surveys by route is provided in Attachment A.

The 2021 On-Board Survey collected 1,105 usable surveys. Of the usable surveys, 1,042 were completed with Cherriots Local passengers and 63 were completed with Cherriots Regional Express passengers. A copy of the 2021 On-Board Survey report is included in Attachment B.

The sampling plan will be presented to the Service Planning Manager as a draft for review and approval prior to implementation. It is noted that an approved sampling plan is a required component of the PMP and the Consultant will be expected to fulfill all sampling plan commitments in their entirety. Cherriots intends to rigorously enforce sampling plan requirements to attain adequate sample size, confidence, and margin of error targets as defined in the approved sampling plan.

As noted earlier, Cherriots interests go well beyond transit riders as a single group to include a variety of rider\subgroups differentiated by the particular transit services they use, their travel behaviors, and their demographic characteristics. At a minimum, the survey design plan and survey instrument will account for the following rider subgroups:

• Cherriots Local bus riders o Frequent service o Standard service o Basic service o By time period – Early a.m.; a.m. peak; midday; p.m. peak; evening; night

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026 o Trips between non-downtown destinations o Park-ride and kiss-ride access vs. walk-on and bicycle access o All university / college based trips (including students, faculty, and staff) o Students grades 9-12 o Other student trips o Senior citizens (60+ years of age and older) o People with disabilities o Low-income persons (200% of the Federal Poverty level and below) o People who do not identify as Caucasian/white o Weekend riders o People of all genders

• Cherriots Local Commuter Express riders o By time period – a.m.; midday; p.m.

o Park-ride and kiss-ride access vs. walk-on and bicycle access o All university/college-based trips (including students, faculty, and staff) o Students grades 9-12 o Other student trips o Senior citizens (60-plus years of age and older) o Persons with disabilities o Low-income persons (200% of the Federal Poverty level) o People who do not identify as Caucasian/white o People of all genders

• Cherriots Regional Express bus riders o By time period – a.m.; midday; p.m.

o Trips between non-downtown destinations o Park-ride and kiss-ride access vs. walk-on and bicycle access o All university/college-based trips (including students, faculty, and staff) o Students grades 9-12 o Other student trips o Senior citizens (60 plus years of age and older) o People with disabilities o Low-income persons (200% of the Federal Poverty level) o People who do not identify as Caucasian/White o Weekend riders o People of all genders

In developing the sampling plan, the Consultant must adequately recognize and reconcile the trade-offs between preserving opportunities for side-by-side comparison of the 2021 surveys and this Survey’s results, and the SAMTD’s interest in improving the accuracy and relevance of the Survey results. The Consultant will be expected to review the details of the 2021 survey’s sampling methodology and meet with Cherriots staff as needed to fully understand the intentions and outcomes of the 2021 sampling plan. The Consultant will be expected to recommend modifications, as necessary, to achieve the stated objectives for the Survey.

Proposed changes that are most likely to enhance the quality and quantity of information pertaining to a broad array of rider subgroups will be favorably considered.

The Consultant is encouraged to propose alternative sampling approaches to the extent that more accurate and meaningful results can be achieved in the Study. Access mode information is very important for the

Survey Services RFP NO. 23-026 transportation model and planning purposes. It should be gathered for all routes. The Consultant should include in its proposed sampling plan ways to address the following issues:

• Short Transit Trips – Riders traveling short distances may not have sufficient time to complete a survey during their trip. The Consultant’s sampling plan should include a positive means to mitigate or avoid under-sampling transit riders who make short transit trips.

• Trip Purposes Other Than Work – Require trip information for transit riders with three broad trip pur-pose categories: “home-based work trips,” “home-based non-work trips,” and "non-home-based trips.”Because “home-based work trips” have been the dominant transit trip purpose among the three categories (particularly during peak periods), a sample plan based primarily on peak periods and other high-volume ridership periods may not capture a sufficient number of “home-to-non-work trips” and “non-home-based trips” to support statistically valid observations about passengers who make these types of transit trips. The Consultant’s sampling plan should ensure that information drawn about a wide range of trip purposes meets or exceeds the level of statistical significance (confidence level, margin of error, and standard deviation) for the approved sampling plan, in general. The sampling plan must en-sure that surveys of riders on the following services are collected with a statistically significant sample size.

• Riders on Lower Volume Routes, and Exception Trips – Riders on lower volume basic routes (60 minute weekday headways) and others with low ridership volume.

• Regional and Local Express Bus Riders – Riders using express buses, which have relatively few stops and longer distances traveled.

• Transportation-Disadvantaged Riders – Rider subgroups that tend to have a higher propensity to be dependent on public transit. At a minimum, this includes the following census-defined population seg-ments: persons who do not consider themselves Caucasian / white; low-income persons (those in households earning 200% or less of the Federal Poverty Level); people 60 years of age or older; people 18 years of age and under; people with disabilities; people from zero-vehicle households; and people with limited English proficiency.

• Late Night and Early Morning Riders – Riders traveling at times when overall transit ridership is rel-atively low. The selected Consultant will be expected to draw upon ridership and service data as avail-able from SAMTD to formulate a sample that reflects transit ridership at various times of the service day. Time periods shall be as defined by SAMTD.

Without presupposing the benefits of particular sampling methods, Cherriots encourages proposers to em-ploy innovative solutions to improve survey results. Preference will be given to approaches that have been demonstrated in peer situations to be effective in responding to the concerns noted above.

Confidence and Margin of Error Targets – The 2021 survey sought to achieve statistical significance with a 95% confidence level and a +/-5% margin of error for an array of rider subgroups. As stated above, the new survey will have a narrower margin of error of +/-3%, the same confidence level (95%), and a standard deviation of 50% (or 0.5). The selected Consultant is expected to adhere to the thresholds as defined in Attachment A for all rider subgroups in the survey, or alternatively indicate what level of confidence, margin of error, and standard deviation will be targeted and attained. The sampling plan must state the minimum number of valid responses that must be collected to fulfill stated confidence and margin of error targets.

Subtask 1.2 – Prepare Staffing Plan The Consultant will prepare a comprehensive staffing plan that positively demonstrates a commitment to quality data collection, processing, and analysis.