The Administration recommends that the Mayor and City Commission approve the Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute Amendment No. 12 to the Agreement with Limousines of South Florida (LSF) for citywide turnkey trolley services.

On April 30, 2014, the City Commission approved the award of Invitation To Bid (ITB) No. 2014-154-SR for Turnkey Trolley Operations and Maintenance Services to LSF.  Following the approval of the ITB, an agreement between the City and LSF was executed on May 8, 2014 (the “Agreement”) and has been amended various times (Attachment A).

The Miami Beach trolley service resumed on February 15, 2021 after almost a year of service suspension since March 26, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Since resuming service, the Miami Beach trolley operates at a reduced service level with only 15 vehicles in service (as compared to 25 vehicles during normal (pre-COVID) service) and operating 15 hours daily (as compared to 18 hours pre-pandemic).  This reduced service level has resulted in longer passenger wait times of approximately 30 minutes as compared to 15 to 20 minutes during normal (pre-COVID) service.

The Agreement with LSF stipulates performance measures for each of the four trolley routes in operation, including on-time performance/headway regularity goal of 85% for each route.  Performance penalties are assessed when LSF fails to meet the on-time performance/headway regularity goal and are deducted from LSF’s monthly invoices.  It is important to note that the on-time performance goal of 85% was not lowered when the trolley service resumed at a reduced service level in February 2021.  The current goal is challenging to achieve given the current reduced trolley service level entails fewer vehicles in service, lower frequency of service, and longer headways (i.e. passenger wait times).   

Following resumption of citywide trolley service in February 2021, Transportation and Mobility Department staff conducted an evaluation of system performance from February through April 2021.  Based on this evaluation, staff determined that due to a long period of service suspension/inactivity, the hardware technology components on the trolleys which are used to evaluate system performance yielded unreliable data; thus, performance penalties could not be accurately evaluated and fairly assessed.  As a result, the City did not apply any performance penalties during February, March, and April of 2021.

Given the concerns with data reliability, City staff worked closely with the company that currently provides both hardware and software solutions for the City’s trolley service (TSO Mobile).  TSO Mobile performed quality control checks and manually adjusted data for May through September of 2021, at which time, TSO Mobile felt comfortable with the accuracy of the data used for evaluation of trolley on-time performance.  As such, the City used the revised data provided by TSO Mobile to evaluate and assess performance penalties for May through September of 2021.  The total amount of performance penalties deducted from LSF’s invoices for that period was $80,060. 

In September 2021, LSF reached out to the City Administration to express concerns with the reliability of the data used for evaluation of system performance and, in general, the assessment of performance penalties during the provision of trolley service at reduced levels due to the pandemic, as well as the adverse impact that the pandemic has had on LSF’s workforce and its ability to deliver trolley service in accordance with the established contract performance measures during these challenging times.  Based on these concerns, LSF requested that the City waive the performance penalties deducted from LSF’s invoices from service resumption on February 15, 2021 until September 30, 2021 in the total amount of $80,060.

To ensure the highest level of data accuracy, in September 2021, the City worked with TSO Mobile to upgrade GPS devices on 29 of the 33 trolley vehicles in the City’s fleet to 5G technology.  Additionally, the GPS devices on the remaining 4 trolley vehicles were upgraded to 5G by TSO Mobile at no cost to the City.  The GPS hardware upgrades have resulted in a significant improvement in data reliability, thereby eliminating the need for TSO Mobile to perform any manual adjustments since October 1, 2021.

The Administration believes that lowering the current on-time performance/headway regularity goal from 85% to 80% during the provision of reduced level of trolley service is fair and reasonable.  Given the recently completed upgrades in GPS technology on all trolley vehicles in the City’s fleet, the City can accurately assess performance penalties retroactively to October 1, 2021.  Based on LSF invoices paid by the City between October 1, 2021 and January 31, 2022, reducing the current on-time performance/headway regularity goal from 85% to 80% retroactive to October 1, 2021 will result in the reimbursement of $42,040 to LSF.   As stated above, the City is not assessing on-time performance penalties prior to October 1, 2021 due to inconsistencies in the data used to calculate the penalties as a result of faulty equipment.

Finally, while LSF currently operates the citywide trolley service as a headway-based service, LSF has requested that the City allow them to operate a schedule-based operation as an option.  LSF is currently developing schedules for the reduced trolley service level which are subject to the review and approval of the Transportation and Mobility Department.  In addition, any change in trolley service level or service span will require that LSF develop additional schedules, subject to Transportation and Mobility staff review and approval. 

Based on the 2019 Miami Beach Resident Survey, 75% of residents surveyed are satisfied with the trolley service, however, service reliability and service frequency were the main factors of service dissatisfaction.  Based on the same survey, 63% of respondents use their automobile as a primary mode of transportation for trips within Miami Beach, and 73% of respondents consider trolleys and local bus circulators as the most viable alternative to using a personal automobile within the City.

The total estimated fiscal impact associated with Amendment No. 12 is approximately $122,100.  Funding has been identified in the Transportation and Mobility Department’s FY 2021/2022 Operating Budget.

$122,000/106-9615-000349-30-403-529-00-00-00-

Since the resumption of citywide trolley service at reduced service levels on February 15, 2021, City staff has met multiple times with LSF in response to concerns with inconsistencies in the data used to calculate on-time performance goals due to faulty technology equipment on-board the trolley vehicles (City replaced all GPS devices as of October 1, 2021).  Furthermore, LSF expressed concerns with its ability to meet the current on-time performance goal of 85% established in the original contract as a result of the operational impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the City’s trolley service (i.e. fewer vehicles in service, lower frequency of service, and longer headways (i.e. longer passenger wait times); as well as the adverse impact that the pandemic has had on LSF’s workforce and its ability to deliver trolley service in accordance with the established contract performance measures. 

As a result, the Administration and LSF have negotiated the following terms which have been included in Amendment No. 12 (Attachment B) for the City Commission’s consideration:

1.     Reimburse LSF for performance penalties assessed from May 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021, in the amount of $80,060, due to inconsistencies in the data used to calculate the penalties at that time.

2.     Lower on-time performance/headway regularity goal during operation of reduced levels of trolley service, from 85% to 80%, retroactive to October 1, 2021 (date when City completed the replacement of all technology devices on-board trolley vehicles), and reimburse LSF $42,040 in connection with the lower on-time performance goal for the invoices paid by the City to date in FY22 (October 2021-January 2022).

3.     Allow LSF to provide schedule-based service as an alternative to headway-based service.

4.     Require that LSF acquires, at no cost to the City, services of Swiftly, Inc. through the end of the contract term, to more efficiently monitor, analyze, and manage trolley system operation and enhance overall passenger experience by providing more accurate arrival/departure information.

The Administration believes that approving Amendment No. 12 to the Agreement with LSF is beneficial to the City as it adopts an on-time performance goal that is more appropriate during reduced trolley service levels, retroactive to October 1, 2021.  Furthermore, it will enable the City and LSF to, at no cost to the City, utilize state-of-the-art technology to improve monitoring, management, passenger experience, and overall quality of trolley service.