A pre-proposal conference will be held on September 3, 2003 at 9:00 a.m. at Pierce Transit Headquarters, 3701 96th Street SW, Lakewood, WA 98499. All prospective proposers are encouraged to attend.

INTRODUCTION

Pierce Transit offers a variety of transportation services, including fixed route bus service, intra - and inter-county express service, vanpools, ridesharing, hybrid zone services and a door-to-door ADA Paratransit service known as SHUTTLE. Pierce Transit's service area covers 450 square miles and serves an estimated population of 728,500.

SHUTTLE’s basic service area is a corridor centered on the fixed route and extending 3/4 of a mile to either side of the route. Inter-county trips are scheduled to or from Federal Way Park & Ride lots at I-5 & 320th and 348th & 9th in King County; the Buckley Library (Buckley) and SR 512 Park & Ride lot (Lakewood) Pierce County.

SHUTTLE service is available throughout the same hours and days as fixed route. Where trips on the fixed route bus service are provided at time intervals greater than one hour, SHUTTLE service is provided on approximately the same frequency. The core service area has the longest span of service with the first pickup at 5 AM and the last pick-up at midnight during the weekdays. Saturday service has the first pick-up at 6 AM and the last pick-up at midnight and Sunday service has the first pick-up at 7 AM and the last pick-up at midnight.

Currently, SHUTTLE provides approximately 500,000 trips per year, and is projected to reach over 545,000 trips by 2008. SHUTTLE is using a combination of directly-operated service, contracted hourly service provider, and contracted zone-to-zone supplemental service providers. The directly operated service makes up approximately 30 percent of the total SHUTTLE service using 29 peak pull vehicles. The contracted hourly service provides approximately 65 percent of the total service using 46 peak pull vehicles provided by Pierce Transit, and the supplemental zone- to-zone service is approximately 5 percent of the total SHUTTLE service using vehicles provided by the supplemental contractors.

Pierce Transit staff is directly responsible for overall system management as well as trip reservations, scheduling and dispatch for the entire system, regardless of which operator fulfills a trip request. In addition, Pierce Transit staff is responsible for road supervision and operator training for the directly operated portion of the service. Additional administrative and planning responsibilities for the overall system is provided by Pierce Transit. Pierce Transit maintenance staff are responsible for the care and up-keep of the directly operated vehicle fleet.

During the first year of this contract, it is anticipated that the mix of service between directly operated, contracted hourly and contracted supplemental zone-to-zone service will remain consistent with the current operations.

Pierce Transit SHUTTLE accepts trip requests from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. seven days a week. Reservations can be made from one to five days before travel. Pierce Transit does not pre-schedule return trips for about 4 to 6 percent of all service, but accepts "will call’s" for the same day of service. After 5:00 p.m. each day, Pierce Transit staff will begin scheduling and arranging passenger trips on to routes for the next day of service. SHUTTLE is a demand response service that produces unexpected last minute changes. Final vehicle schedules may be transmitted to the contractor up to one hour before a specific route is scheduled to go into service. Pierce Transit reserves the right to cancel or change specific route start times up to one hour prior to the scheduled start time, and may modify the end of the route at any time. In addition, Pierce Transit reserves the right to place routes on unpaid breaks at any time, for any duration due to changes and/or cancellations in service, throughout the day. Operators are not required to remain on a "standby" status for the duration of their break.

Pierce Transit will provide the contractor with a tentative route schedule to assist in planning shift shake-ups and staffing requirements. All schedules are subject to change within one-hour notice.

At such time technology is implemented, most passenger pick-up and drop off information may be transmitted from the Pierce Transit dispatch office to the Vehicle Operator via Mobile Data Terminals.

Pierce Transit will provide the operating facility including fuel system, revenue vehicles, radios and MDTs to the contractor.

CONTRACT TERM

The term of the contract shall be from July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2009 with two optional one-year periods.