The City of Lone Tree is seeking the services of a qualified firm for the overall management and operation of an on-demand transit system, Link on Demand. The management of this service will require maintaining a smart phone application and telephone call center for ride requests, regular maintenance of a fleet of shuttles, and personnel management for shuttle drivers and support staff. Through Link on Demand, the City of Lone Tree seeks to provide access to transit services for people of all abilities through a dedicated, staffed call center to serve individuals who may not have access to a smartphone or the ability to utilize a mobile app.
A Brief History of Link on Demand Transit
The City of Lone Tree’s Link on Demand started in 2014 as “Lone Tree Link”, operating as a shuttle along Park Meadows Drive, a transportation connection for employees to travel between the Lincoln RTD LRT station and major employers. In 2016, the City of Lone Tree was selected to become a part of Transportation for America’s Smart Cities Collaborative, a working group of 16 cities across the United States dedicated to developing innovative transportation pilot programs. Lone Tree was selected to develop a micro transit pilot program that could deliver on-demand transit service to the community to address its last-mile transit needs. “Link On Demand – Powered by Uber”, launched in August 2017 and ran through December of 2018.
It was during this initial pilot that we discovered that the majority of the trips were not first and last-mile but rather intercity travel instead, revealing a segment of our population that is dependent on public transit, with a strong connection between multifamily developments and commercial land uses, indicating a broader need for more public mobility options than we were previously considering. The City took the lessons learned from the pilot and selected Via, an international ride sharing technology firm, to develop a community app tailored to the specific needs of the community. “Link on Demand” relaunched in February of 2019 with WPM North and continued to provide vehicle and driver support for the transit program. New contracts to Via and WPM North were approved by City Council in February 2020 as the Program achieved over 50,000 trips completed.
Current Needs for Link on Demand Transit
The City continues to operate the Link on Demand Transit Program and has recently authorized a return to pre-pandemic service levels, operating two vehicles throughout the week, as ridership demand continues to increase. There has been a noticeable increase in the number of requests for travel by people experiencing medical conditions or limited mobility. In addition, people visit the City of Lone Tree for medical purposes, sometimes traveling across the state, and need transportation assistance to gain access to medical appointments and procedures conducted at Sky Ridge Medical Center. ADA-related requests for services have identified a segment of potential users of the transit program that do not use, or have access to, the smartphone-based technology required to hail Link on Demand, the City would like to add a phone service to the Program to address this need. The City of Lone Tree has a performance goal for Link on Demand transit to be made available to all people within a 15-minute timeframe.
The Contractor selected for this Program needs to review and build upon the success of the Link on Demand Transit Program and provide an innovative approach to creating and maintaining the next evolution of the Program. The Contractor should provide a detailed schedule for launch of the new service, including the development of staff, fleet, on-call capabilities, as well as the phone application, to address existing and future multi-modal traffic demands of the City of Lone Tree. The selected Contractor should be prepared to adjust and scale capacity with our anticipated future growth as the City continues to foster partnerships to expand transit beyond our municipal boundaries and into Highlands Ranch, Meridian Business Park and RidgeGate East.
To download this RFP, please visit Rocky Mountain E Purchasing (BIDNET) and search the following NIGP categories: 55090 ITS, 91896 Transportation Consulting, 95294 Transportation Services for Elderly, Handicapped, 55640 Coach, Transit, 96182 Transportation Services, 92032 ITS Software If you think of additional categories that the City of Lone Tree should advertise, please contact Dan Raine, Mobility Manager at the City of Lone Tree. Thank you!
