Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Chris Walton
Department: Transportation Division: Transit
Information
Requested Action
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MOTION TO AUTHORIZE Director of Purchasing to approve a fixed contract to the awarded vendor, Proterra, Inc. from the State of Georgia Contract No. 99999-001-SPD0000138-0007; Supplemental Mass Transit and Transportation related Vehicles and related Equipment and Accessories; for the purchase of 13 40-foot, low floor, heavy-duty all electric transit buses to include on route and depot chargers, diagnostic equipment, spare parts and training for the Transit Division, in a total estimated amount of $16,302,805, and authorize the County Administrator to take all necessary administrative and budgetary actions to implement this project.
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Why Action is Necessary
In accordance with the Broward County Procurement Code, Section 21.31.a.4, Award Authority, Board approval is required for awards exceeding $500,000.
What Action Accomplishes
Authorizes the purchase of 13 40’, low floor, heavy-duty electric transit buses for the Transit Division (BCT) at a total estimated cost of $16,302,805. These buses will replace older diesel buses and be used for the electrification of the Broward Boulevard Corridor (Route 22).
Is this Action Goal Related
Yes
Previous Action Taken
None
Summary Explanation/Background
THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT/TRANSIT DIVISION AND THE PURCHASING DIVISION RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION
This item supports the Board's vision for "A sustainable system of world-class intermodal transportation, infrastructure, quality human services, public safety, affordable housing, recreation, arts and culture, complementing and balancing our natural resources and environment" and its values of “Cooperatively delivering an efficient and accessible regional intermodal transportation network”, “Encouraging investments in renewable energy, sustainable practices and environmental protection”, and “Consistently delivering responsive, efficient, quality services to the public and internal customers" by purchasing electric buses. Deploying all-electric buses to replace existing diesel buses will reduce energy consumption, emissions of harmful pollutants and greenhouse gases and contribute to the County’s Climate Change Action Plan initiatives.
The Office of Economic and Small Business Development (OESBD) did not assign Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) participation goals for this procurement. Consistent with U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) requirements, the purchase of buses with federal funding has been exempted from the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goal setting program by the U.S. DOT; therefore, no DBE goal is applicable for this project. However, the U.S. DOT regulations require that each transit vehicle manufacturer, as a condition of being authorized to bid or propose on FTA-assisted transit vehicle procurements, certifies that it has complied with the requirements of title 49 CFR 26.49 (a) (1 ). (Exhibit 1).
The purpose of this contract is to purchase 13 40’, low floor, heavy-duty electric transit buses to include charging and diagnostic equipment, spare parts and training, via the State of Georgia Contract No. 99999-001-SPD0000138 for the Broward County Transit (BCT) Division to replace diesel buses. Two buses are anticipated to be delivered in the Spring of 2021 and will be used for the initial electrification of the BCT’s Route 22 which operates along Broward Boulevard between the Broward Central Terminal Station in Fort Lauderdale and the Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise. The remaining 11 buses will be delivered by the Fall of 2021. BCT’s goal is to fully electrify the Broward Boulevard corridor by the end of calendar year 2021.
As background, BCT worked with the Purchasing Division on the issuance of a Request for Information (RFI) seeking electric bus manufacturers on a demonstration project that would provide BCT with free-of-charge, 40-foot fully electric transit buses capable of being operated in local service for up to 30-days during the summer of 2019. The RFI was issued on December 27, 2018, and the County received five responses to the RFI from potential vendors interested in participating in the 30-day demonstration including BYD, MCI, New Flyer of America, Inc., Proterra, Inc. and Gillig, LLC.
Agreements were executed between the County and four of the five respondents who could provide an electric bus for a time period sufficient for BCT staff to evaluate the bus in service within the County: BYD, New Flyer of America Inc., Proterra, Inc. and Gillig, LLC. Testing/demonstration of the four buses starting on June 9th, 2019 and was completed on October 26, 2019. Through this demonstration project, BCT staff was able to evaluate the most recent advancements and technologies for future electric bus purchases and determined that the 40-foot electric bus provided by Proterra, Inc. performed the best mechanically and was the most efficient in battery utilization (kwh/mile).
Additionally, as a further step towards Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) fleet expansion and diversification, on September 19, 2019, BCT entered into an agreement with the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) to provide technical services to explore ZEB opportunities that would provide convenient, cost effective, state of the art transportation in Broward County. Through this agreement BCT will complete an evaluation of its local fixed route system by:
1. Performing route, charge, and rate modeling on 15 local BCT routes. Including Route 22 mentioned above for full electrification.
2. Predicting electric bus fuel economy and range on selected local routes, identify and prioritize routes for electric bus service, and assess the impact of opportunity charging on route.
3. Provide a near-term ZEB procurement plan, including vehicle and equipment specifications and other documents required for bus procurement.
4. Conduct a capital and operating cost analysis to assess the impact of transitioning to a 100% zero-emission fleet.
It is anticipated that the evaluation/assessment to determine the feasibility of incorporating ZEBs into the BCT fleet will be completed by July 2020.
Source of Additional Information
Chris Walton, Director, Transportation Department, (954) 357-8361
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
The project costs estimated at $16,302,805 will be funded with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant funds budgeted in the Transit Division’s Capital grant fund.