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Agenda Item # 15

BOARD MEMORANDUM

RECOMMENDATION:

Authorize the General Manager to execute an amendment to the current contract with Orbital Sciences Corporation (Orbital) for the Advanced Communications System (ACS) to extend the term of the contract, at no additional cost, through December 31, 2005, as needed for project completion.

BACKGROUND:

VTA formerly utilized an antiquated radio communications system for its bus, light rail and support vehicle fleet. The system was manufactured in the 1970’s by Motorola, is no longer produced, has limited parts availability and technical support, and requires extensive maintenance. Due to these deficiencies along with recent advances in the communications and intelligent transportation systems fields, VTA has undertaken an effort to replace this system with a proven and comprehensive radio and fleet management system known as the Advanced Communications System (ACS).

The ACS project, when completed, will completely replace all elements of VTA’s transit communication system. The ACS scope of work includes replacement of all bus, light rail and support vehicle radio equipment; implementation of a simulcast radio repeater system throughout the VTA service area; installation of a new computer-aided dispatching system; and the addition of mobile data terminals in Field Supervision vehicles.

ACS utilizes Global Positioning System (GPS) automated vehicle locator equipment. This technology will provide real time tracking of vehicle locations, improve emergency response and aid radio dispatchers in the daily management of our transit service. Additional features VTA will implement include automatic passenger counters on 100 buses and 20 light rail vehicles, and next bus stop annunciation system on all buses. The ACS project will also enable VTA to implement future Intelligent Transportation Systems applications such as traffic signal preemption and real time passenger information.

In December 1998, the VTA Board of Directors authorized the General Manager to enter into a contract with Orbital for the acquisition and implementation of ACS in an amount not to exceed $14,400,000. The contractNotice to Proceed was issued on February 11, 1999. The original contract term was 36 months – 24 months for design, supply and installation of the equipment and systems, followed by a 12-month warranty period.

Over the past few years, the VTA Board of Directors has authorized this contract to be amended several times for project term extension and for various technical upgrades, including acquisition and licensing of the necessary radio channels from the FCC, addition of equipment for narrowband radio channels, and equipment installation on the new light rail vehicles. The current contract value is $17,566,584 and has been extended through December 2004, which includes the 12-month warranty period. This proposed amendment will not change the current contract value.

DISCUSSION:

To date, Orbital has replaced all bus, light rail and support vehicle radio equipment, has installed ACS equipment on all bus and non-revenue vehicles, and has implemented the simulcast radio repeater system throughout the VTA service area. The new computer-aided dispatching system at the Operations Control Center has also been installed.

The timelines required for uncompleted project deliverables, however, indicate that full ACS system implementation will not be completed by the end of 2003 as scheduled. Major items that are yet to be implemented include the next stop annunciation, field supervisor terminals, automated passenger counters, final software upgrades, additional vendor provided training and acceptance testing. Additional time is also needed to finalize the design and installation of the ACS equipment on the Kinkisharyo light rail vehicles in a manner that coordinates with the delivery and acceptance of those cars. Finally, VTA is pursuing an upgrade of the ACS operating system software from the current Windows NT to Windows 2000 (or above). Negotiations with Orbital are ongoing at this time on this item. This important improvement would take additional time beyond the current contract expiration.

Upon approval of this proposed action, VTA staff will complete negotiations with Orbital on extending the project schedule. The proposed action will extend the contract term up to one additional year to retain flexibility in project delivery, as needed. The contract term includes project implementation plus one year warranty.

ALTERNATIVES:

There are no practical alternatives to the proposed contract extension. The extension is necessary for Orbital to successfully complete the project.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The ACS project is included in VTA’s approved capital program. This proposed amendment does not increase the contract costs or the project budget.

DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (DBE) PARTICIPATION:

An analysis was conducted to determine potential DBE subcontracting opportunities within the scope of work of this contract. Based on the limited subcontracting opportunities and specialized nature of the work, a DBE goal of 10% was set for this contract. This amendment does not change the DBE goal.

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