The City of North Miami Beach currently provides our own public transit trolley. The level of annual ridership ranks 8th in Miami-Dade, amongst twenty-six similar operations. The continued operation of the trolleys supports the general welfare of the public and serves a public purpose, as many commuters and citizens have come to rely on them. The trolleys are provided at no cost to public riders.
In an effort to continue to provide exceptional municipal services, and consistent with our Strategic Plan, the City of North Miami Beach issued RFP-20-019-DR “North Miami Beach Trolley Operation And Maintenance Services.” The City provides all of the necessary vehicles to successfully allow a contractor to operate the city’s shuttle transit system. The contractor provides the necessary driving staff and maintenance of the vehicles, which includes tires, fuel, oil.
On June 2, 2020, notice was posted on the City’s website and BidSync, and with electronic notification sent to over 6,974 vendors. Proposals were received from four proposers: Academy Bus LLC, C.P.R. Medical Transportation, Limousines of South Florida, Inc. (LSF Shuttle) and Pro Transportation, Inc. dba ProKel Mobility. The Procurement Management Division conducted an administrative review of the submissions and deemed all submissions responsive and responsible.
The City Manager established an Evaluation Committee comprised of the Transit Administrative Coordinator, Fleet Manager, Risk Manager and Chief Procurement Officer.
On July 16, 2020, at a publicly advertised meeting, the Evaluation Committee submitted initial scoring of the responses. The Evaluation Committee conducted a public discussion, regarding the established evaluation criteria of Operations Plan, Experience and Qualifications, Past Performance, and Total Cost of Proposed Services. The Evaluation Committee thereafter determined it was appropriate to invite the two (2) top ranked proposers: Limousines of South Florida, Inc. (LSF Shuttle) and Pro Transportation Inc. dba ProKel Mobility to make oral presentations and provide clarification to their responses submitted to the City.
Following the presentations, discussions and questions, the Evaluation Committee re-scored each proposer based on the response and clarification presented. The final ranking by the Evaluation Committee of the top two ranked were so substantially close (0.59):
Limousines of South Florida, Inc. total of 84.26 points
Pro Transportation, Inc. d/b/a ProKel Mobility total of 83.67 points
As your City Manager, it is incumbent upon me to not only review the recommendation of our Evaluation Committee but is it my responsibility to conduct my due diligence when making a recommendation to the Mayor and City Commission.
When conducting my due diligence, I reviewed the top two responses in regards to the established criteria and our desired goals to ensure our recommendation is in the City’s best interest. When conducing my due diligence, I recognize that both of the top-ranked two firms are experienced and qualified to provide for the operation and maintenance of the trolley. I agree with the evaluation committee’s determination in rating each of the firms’ qualities such as technical resources, capabilities, key staffing and relevant project experiences. However, I do not think the evaluation committee provided the same consideration in scoring both firms’ experience, proximity and approach.
Based on my due diligence, the recommendation of award is being made to Pro Transportation, Inc. d/b/a ProKel Mobility.