It is recommended that the Mayor and City Commission approve the Resolution authorizing the Administration to simultaneously negotiate with ParkMobile, LLC, as the first-ranked firm, and PaybyPhone US Inc., as the second-ranked firm. The Resolution requires that the final negotiated agreement(s) shall be subject to the prior approval of the Mayor and City Commission.

On May 8, 2013, the Mayor and City Commission approved the issuance of Request for Proposals (RFP) 177-2013ME, seeking proposals from qualified providers of pay-by-phone systems that enable payments for the City's on-street and off-street metered parking facilities via phone, mobile applications, or text. The pay-by-phone system was intended to supplement the existing payment options and have the capability of providing discounted rates and service fees to residents.

Following the competitive solicitation process on February 1, 2014, the City entered into an Agreement with ParkMobile, LLC ("ParkMobile") to provide pay-by-phone parking services. The Agreement had an initial term of five (5) years with two (2) additional 2-year renewal terms. The Agreement is currently on a month-to-month extension until such time the Administration can transition to the new service provider(s).

On October 26, 2022, the City Commission directed the Administration to explore options for contracting with the best mobile parking payment application service, including, but not limited to, mobile parking payment applications being used by neighboring jurisdictions to maximize convenience to residents and local visitors.

Pursuant to the City Commission's direction on October 26, 2022, staff returned to the City Commission on December 14, 2022 after having researched which mobile parking payment solutions were being utilized by neighboring jurisdictions and whether the City could piggyback any of the contracts executed by these agencies. All local jurisdictions were queried, and responses were received from the following:

1) City of Miami/Miami Parking Authority;

2) City of Coral Gables;

3) City of Doral;

4) City of Hallandale and

5) City of Fort Lauderdale.

The City of Miami/Miami Parking Authority responded that its contract had been competitively solicited and awarded to PayByPhone US Inc. ("PayByPhone") in 2014 and is scheduled to expire in 2025. The other four (4) agencies responded that they were piggybacking off the City of Miami/Miami Parking Authority Contract.

During the research process, staff also learned that some jurisdictions (e.g., Tampa) had awarded contracts for mobile parking payment solutions to more than one provider as a means of extending convenience to residents who may use multiple applications, as well as visitors traveling into the City from areas serviced by other providers.

On February 1, 2023, the Mayor and City Commission approved the issuance of RFQ No. 2023-051-WG for mobile parking payment solutions. The RFQ was released on February 2, 2023, and a voluntary pre-proposal meeting was held on February 16, 2023. The Procurement Department issued bid notices to approximately 6,000 companies utilizing the City's e-procurement system, with 75 prospective bidders accessing the solicitation. RFQ responses were due and received on April 5, 2023. The City received nine (9) proposals from the following firms: Frogparking, Inc., Honkmobile USA LTD., Hotspot Parking Inc., Mobile Smart City Corp, Parkeon, Inc., ParkMobile, LLC, Passport Labs, Inc., PayByPhone US Inc., and Zipby USA LLC.

On May 26, 2023, the Evaluation Committee, appointed by the City Manager via Letter to Commission No. 223-2023, convened to consider the proposals received. The Committee was comprised of Jacqueline Caicedo, Administrative Services Manager, Parking Department; Manny Marquez, Assistant Director, Finance Department; Seychelles Martinez, Chief Software Architect, Information Technology Department; Otniel Rodriguez, Assistant Director, Transportation and Mobility Department; and Alberto Ventura, Assistant Director, Parking Department. The Committee was provided an overview of the project and information relative to the City's Cone of Silence Ordinance and the Government Sunshine Law. The Committee was also provided with general information on the scope of services and a copy of each proposal. The Committee was instructed to score and rank each proposal pursuant to the evaluation criteria established in the RFQ. The results of the Evaluation Committee process are detailed in Attachment A and resulted in the following rankings:

1^st ranked – ParkMobile, LLC

2^nd ranked – PayByPhone US Inc.

3^rd ranked – Parkeon, Inc. (Flowbird)

4^th ranked – Mobile Smart City Corp

5^th ranked – HonkMobile USA LTD.

6^th ranked – Passport Labs, Inc.

7^th ranked – Zipby USA LLC

8^th ranked – Hotspot Parking Inc.

9^th ranked – Frogparking, Inc

A summary of the first and second-ranked firms follows based on information provided by the firms.

ParkMobile, LLC

ParkMobile, LLC ("ParkMobile") was founded in 2008 and has become an industry leader in mobile parking solutions. ParkMobile provides efficient and cost-effective products and services to all its clients. ParkMobile services municipalities, event venues, private operators, college campuses, transit authorities, airports, retail locations, and more. Its solutions allow people to pay for parking on their mobile devices or reserve a parking space in advance. ParkMobile is deployed in eight (8) of the top 10 U.S. cities with more than 45 million users. ParkMobile has contracts with several Florida municipalities including, but not limited to, City of Tampa, City of Tallahassee, City of Orlando, and City of West Palm Beach.

PayByPhone US Inc.

Founded in 2001, PayByPhone US Inc. ("PayByPhone") is one of the world's largest mobile parking payments companies. PayByPhone has over 55 million users in thousands of locations and is owned by Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS), A.G. PayByPhone has been present in the Miami area since 2008 and, since that time, has expanded to 55 additional locations throughout Florida. During 2022, this resulted in nearly 1 million active users - 50% of these are in the Miami area alone - and 21 million transactions in Florida, with 52% occurring in the Miami area. PayByPhone has contracts with a number of neighboring municipalities including, but not limited to, City of Miami, Miami-Dade County (Parks Department), and City of South Miami.

According to the 2022 Community Satisfaction Survey conducted by ETC Institute, 67.4% of residents would recommend the City as a place to live. In addition, according to the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, the greater Miami and Miami Beach area had more than 26.5 million visitors in 2022. The global attention the City of Miami Beach garners directly affects the availability of parking within the City for which the solution(s) aims to address and facilitate for both the public and the Administration.

As with the current agreement, any future agreement(s) is/are expected to be cost neutral with no allocation of funding required. All applicable fees will be negotiated. Financial considerations will be provided to the City Commission for approval as part of the terms of the proposed agreement(s). 

All parking fees collected on the City’s behalf by the contractor is deposited into different accounts depending on off street and on street locations. 

After reviewing the submissions and the results of the Evaluation Committee process, I note that ParkMobile, LLC and PayByPhone US Inc. have been deemed to be the top two ranked firms submitting proposals. The Evaluation Committee members unanimously concluded that ParkMobile, as the first-ranked bidder, and PayByPhone US, as the second-ranked bidder, provided the overall best combination of experience, technology and services.

For the last nine (9) years, ParkMobile, the incumbent vendor, has satisfactorily provided mobile parking payment services to the City with minimal complaints. The vendor is knowledgeable about the City's challenges regarding on and off-street parking payments, has worked with the City to implement resident discount rates directed by the City Commission, and has excellent reporting capabilities.

PayByPhone US has also been deemed to be highly qualified by the Evaluation Committee. The Committee noted that PayByPhone US is established worldwide with over 3 million parking spaces and maintains a significant presence in South Florida. The platform is also multi-language and easy to use. PayByPhone is able to implement a resident discount structure, the terms of which will be negotiated, and its references have provided positive feedback.

For the reasons stated herein, it is recommended that the Mayor and City Commission approve the Resolution authorizing the Administration to simultaneously negotiate with ParkMobile, LLC and PaybyPhone US Inc., the first and second-ranked firms, respectively. The Resolution also requires that the final negotiated Agreement(s) with the recommended proposer(s) shall be subject to the prior approval of the Mayor and City Commission.

Following approval of this item, the Administration will negotiate services, terms, fees, and resident discounts with each vendor. It is recommended that negotiations commence with both ParkMobile and PayByPhone with the potential to offer two (2) mobile parking payment options to parking customers. The results of the negotiation process and the final agreement(s) will be presented to the Mayor and City Commission for approval.