UPDATE ON MID-BEACH FREEBEE ON-DEMAND TRANSIT SERVICE.

The Administration recommends that the Mid-Beach Freebee on-demand transit service be implemented on a permanent basis.  The City Manager is requesting authorization to negotiate and execute a new agreement with Freebee for implementation of a permanent on-demand transit service in Mid-Beach.  The terms of the agreement would include the following:

·         a three-year contract term

·         two vehicles in service with similar operating hours as the current pilot program

·         an hourly operating cost lower than the current hourly operating cost of the pilot program

·         maintain 50/50 revenue share from advertising sales to offset the operating cost to the City

Further, the City Manager is requesting authorization to extend the current agreement with Freebee on a month-to-month for up to 90 days to allow for negotiation of a new agreement.  

Freebee has provided on-demand service in Mid-Beach over the past six months and the Administration is satisfied with their quality of the work, service reliability, quality of personnel and customer service as well as compliance to contractual requirements.  Freebee has unique experience and capacity in this area of transportation, ability to implement new service and perform service changes in short timeframe, and a strong brand and customer base.  Freebee is the only established provider of on-demand transit service in Miami-Dade County using this type of fully electric vehicles, currently providing service in Coral Gables, Palmetto Bay, Village of Key Biscayne, Village of Pinecrest, North Bay Village, City of Miami, Coconut Grove, and Miami Lakes. Based upon the foregoing, the City Manager recommends that the Mayor and City Commission waive the formal competitive bidding requirement, by a 5/7^ths vote, as permitted under Section 2-367(e) of the City Code, as being in the best interest of the City.

Funding for the permanent on-demand transit service, if approved by City Commission, is subject to the City Commission’s future approval of a budget amendment to transfer the necessary funds from the Parking Fund to the Transportation Fund.

Based on the 2019 Resident Survey, 63% of residents use their automobile as a primary mode of transportation for trips within Miami Beach.  While many residents use the City’s trolley service and 75% of residents surveyed are satisfied with the service, there is a need to provide first mile/last mile connectivity particularly in areas that are not served by the trolley service.

On May 17, 2017, the City Commission discussed on-demand transportation service to low-demand areas as a first mile/last mile solution. As a result of the discussion, the City Commission directed the Administration to pursue the service at no cost to the City.  

In response to City Commission direction, Request for Letters of Interest (RFLOI) for On-Demand Transit Service was issued in February 2018, and responses were received from three firms on March 2, 2018.  The goal was to explore partnership with a vendor that would, at no cost to the City, provide “first mile/last mile” on-demand transportation service to areas underserved by Miami-Dade County bus service and not served by City’s trolley service. None of the firms could provide the service at no charge to passengers or without a City subsidy as required by the RFLOI; thus, all three firms were deemed non-responsive.

In early 2019, the City’s Transportation and Mobility Department identified funding for a four month on-demand transit service pilot program during fiscal year 2018/19. Following a competitive solicitation, a pilot program operated by Freebee was launched on May 31, 2019, serving portions of Middle Beach.  The pilot program service provides first mile/last mile service connecting to the City’s trolley and County’s bus service within the geo-fenced service area and door-to-door service for trips originating and ending within the geo-fenced service area (attachment A).  The service operates as an eco-friendly vanpool, dynamically adjusting vehicle routing to appropriately meet ridership demand and service needs within the service area. The service operates from 6:30 am to 10:00 pm Monday to Saturday and from 8:30 am to 10:00 pm on Sundays.

At its September 11, 2019 meeting, the City Commission discussed continuing the Freebee pilot program and adopted the following motions: 1) referred the item for further discussion to the September 20, 2019 Finance and Citywide Projects Committee (FCWPC); 2) directed the Administration to extend the pilot program through October 31, 2019; 3) approved the addition of two  more vehicles to the service for the remaining term of the pilot program; and 4) approved the use of advertisement on the vehicles to offset some of the operating cost to the City through the end of the pilot program.

At its September 20, 2019 meeting, FCWPC discussed this item and approved use of advertisement on the vehicles to offset some of the operating cost to the City through the end of the pilot program.  Prior to installation of any ads, Freebee is required to submit the advertisement content to the City for review and approval.  Staff and Freebee have agreed to share advertising revenue equally. Due to delays with hiring and training personnel, Freebee placed the two additional vehicles in service on October 2, 2019. Since that date, staff has observed an increase in ridership and decrease in wait times.

At its October 16, 2019 meeting, the City Commission discussed the Mid-Beach Freebee on-demand transit service and approved the extension of the pilot program for two additional months, from November 1, 2019 until December 31, 2019, thereby waiving the formal competitive bidding requirement.

Pilot Program Metrics

The table below depicts performance metrics for the ongoing pilot program from its commencement on May 31, 2019 to October 1, 2019 with only one vehicle in service, and from October 2, 2019 to November 21, 2019 with three vehicles in service.  

¹ Without advertisement revenue

² With advertisement revenue from two vehicles

³ Measured as percentage of time vehicle spends serving all trips over the total service hours

⁴ Based on feedback forms received from riders

Based on the on-board passenger survey:

·         If on-demand transit service was not provided, over 34% of the passengers would conduct this trip by personal vehicle

·         37% of passengers used the service for commuting to work, 45% for leisure/recreation, 11% for school, and 7% for religious purposes

GHG emissions reduction during the pilot period (5/31/19 – 11/21/2019) of 1.91 MT CO₂e is equivalent to:

·         the GHG emissions avoided by switching 73 incandescent lamps to LEDs

·         the carbon absorbed by 2.2 acres of U.S. forests in one year

·         the CO₂ emissions produced from charging 243,549 smartphones

The current pilot program utilizes three vehicles in service during all service hours, however, based on an analysis of passenger demand over the past few months, it was determined that two vehicles would be sufficient to accommodate the demand.  It is anticipated that two vehicles in service would be more cost effective than three vehicles, increase vehicle utilization, and lower the cost per passenger.  Additionally, it was determined that Sunday service could end at 8pm instead of 10pm.

While average service cost per passenger for trolley service is significantly lower at approximately $2.20, on-demand service provides a more cost-effective way of providing public transit service to low-demand residential areas such as Middle Beach which consists mostly of single-family homes and has little to no fixed transit service.  For example, expanding the city’s trolley service to this area would be cost-prohibitive as it would result in a much higher operating cost to the City and cost per passenger (as compared to the current on-demand service). Additional metrics including passenger age groups, detailed breakdown of ridership per day, number of requests and number of rides provided, heat maps of pick-up and drop-off locations as well as survey results are included in attachments B and C.

Based on preliminary conversations with Freebee, the annual cost to implement permanent on-demand transit service in Mid-Beach would be between $194,000 (with advertisement revenue) and $254,000 (without advertisement revenue), based on a three year contract, providing service 7 days a week, from 6:30am to 10pm Monday to Friday, from 8am to 10pm on Saturday, and from 8am to 8pm on Sunday, with two vehicles in service. This annual operating cost is approximately $22,500 less than the current operating cost of the pilot program.

Funding to continue this service is not included in the Transportation and Mobility Department’s FY 2019/20 operating budget.  To implement this service on a permanent basis, funding needs to be identified and subject to the City Commission’s future approval of a budget amendment to transfer the necessary funds from the Parking Fund to the Transportation Fund.

The on-demand transit pilot program has been very well accepted by the Mid-Beach community with 97% satisfaction based on passenger surveys. 

According to the survey statistics, this service has been effective in reducing the number of personal vehicle trips in Mid Beach, with approximately 34% of passengers who would previously use their personal automobile to conduct the same trip, and 48% of passengers using it for either work or school-related purposes.

More importantly, the service has provided Mid-Beach residents with an eco-friendly public mobility option that does not produce tailpipe emissions, and it has helped connect residents in this underserved/low-demand area of the City to existing trolley and bus services.