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CR 97-151 Hop A Ride4 .~ H 5 October 30, 1997 P K ~ ~ HOP-A-RIDE BIDS Council Report 97-151 Proposed Action Staff recommends the following motion: Move to award the Hop-A-Ride contract to Suburban Taxi for the 1998 service and to increase the ticket mice. Overview The Hop-A-Ride service is anadvance-reservation, shared-ride, door-to-door transportation service for anyone who needs transportation within the Hopkins City limits. The Hop-A-Ride service operates Monday through Saturday from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. There are six additional destinations outside the City limits. They are: 1. Methodist Hospital; 2. Opportunity Workshop in Opus II; 3. Shady Oak Beach; 4. Knollwood shopping area; 5. ICA food shelf; 6. Park Nicollet Medical Center. The City of Hopkins contracts with a private taxi operator to provide this service. Every year the City solicits bids from taxi companies to provide service for the program in the upcoming year. Currently Suburban Taxi provides the 1997 service. The current bid price per ride is $4.00. The service was bid in Octaber and only one bid was received, which was from Suburban Taxi. Analysis of Issues o How is the Hop-A-Ride service funded? o What was the bid from Suburban Taxi? o What is the impact on the budget with the bid price? o Should the ticket price be increased? o Will there be any changes in the Hop-A-Ride program for 1998? Na. Anderson Planner CR97-151 Page 2 Primary Issues to consider o How is the Hop-A-Ride service funded? The Metropolitan Council, in the past, has provided 60 percent of the funding for the service, Because of budget constraints, the Met Council portion of the budget is now $42,386; that is 57 percent of the total expenses. The City's general fund and revenue from the ticket sales provide the balance of the funding. The total 1998 budget is $73,900; that would require a general fund contribution for 1998 of $11,572. For 1997, the City is providing $11,200 from the general fund. The 1998 budget is based on 15,000 passengers. o What was the bid from Suburban Taxi? The bid from Suburban Taxi was as follows: o Base bid $4.50"per ride o Trip to Knollwood $4.50 per ride o Trip to ICMA food shelf $4.50 per ride o Trip to Park Nicollet Medical Center $7.50 per ride The bids for the 1998 service are .50 more than the 1997 service. o Should the bid be awarded to Suburban Taxi? Suburban Taxi currently has the 1997 contract. During the past year there have been some complaints regarding the service. Most of these complaints were that the cab did not show for a pickup. If the bid is not accepted, the service will end on December 31, 1997. Suburban Taxi has been the only bidder to provide this service for the last several years. It appears there is limited interest on the part of taxi companies to provide this service, as it provides a minimal profit margin. o What is the impact on the budget with the bid price? The following is the budget for purchase of service and revenue: purchase of service $63,750 based on 15,000 passengers at $4.25 per ride passenger fares $19,942 1.30 x 14,850 = $19,305.00 4.25 x 150 = $ 637.00 With the above expenses and revenues, the City's share is $11,572. CR97-151 Page 3 The following is the bid expense for purchase of service: purchase of service $67,500 based on 15,000 passengers at $4.50 per ride This is an increase of $3750.00 of expenses with the bid from Suburban Taxi. Revenue For every .10 increase in the ticket price, $1485.00 is raised. The budget had increased ticket price of .10. To offset the increase in expenses over the budgeted ticket price, the ticket prices will have to be raised .25. This is a total of .35 per ticket for low income. If the low income ticket price is increased a total of .35, the City's expenses will remain approximately the same. The regular income and Knollwood tickets are based on actual cost for the City. These tickets would have to be raised .50 to cover the cost of the bid increase. o Should the ticket price be increased? The following are the existing ticket prices: o Low income $1.20 o Regular income $4.00 o Knollwood $4.00 o Park Nicollet $4.70 Since the bid price did increase, staff is recommending that the ticket price is increased to the following: o Low income $1.55 o Regular income $4.50 o Knollwood $4.50 o Park Nicollet $5.20 o Will there be any changes in the Hop-A-Ride program for 1998? Staff is recommending no operations changes for the 1948 Hop-A-Ride program. Alternatives 1. Award the bid to Suburban Taxi as recommended by staff. 2. Reject the bid from Suburban Taxi and direct staff to re-bid the service. Rejecting the bid and re-bidding the service probably will not result in more bids. In 1995 no bids were received after bidding the service out twice, and in 1996 and 1997 only one bid was received. CR97-151 Page 4 3. Continue for further information. If the City Council indicates that further information is needed, the item should be continued. This item can be continued for only one Council meeting because the contract will expire December 31, 1997.