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Contracting for Bus and Demand-Responsive Transit Services: A Survey of U.S. Practice and Experience: Special Report 258 (2001)

Chapter: Appendix D: Tabulations of Responses to Survey Part 2

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Previous Chapter: Appendix C: Tabulations of Responses to Survey Part 1

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Suggested Citation: "Appendix D: Tabulations of Responses to Survey Part 2." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2001. Contracting for Bus and Demand-Responsive Transit Services: A Survey of U.S. Practice and Experience: Special Report 258. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10141.

APPENDIX D
Tabulations of Responses to Survey Part 2

TABLE D-1Question 1: Please tell us about the types of services that you provide. What services are directly operated, and which ones do you contract?

Type of Service	Directly Operated	Responding Systems
Bus	151	200
DR (ADA)	91	187
DR (dial-a-ride)	62	115
Commuter rail	1	7
Heavy rail	10	10
Light rail	12	12
Vanpool	18	30
Ferryboat	6	10
Other	10	18
Total responding		237
NOTE: DR=demand-responsive service.

TABLE D-2Number of Systems Reporting Contracted Service by Type of Service

Type of Service	Responding Systems
Bus	77
DR	123
Ferry	1
Commuter rail	1
Total responding systems with contracted service	144
NOTE: Some systems contract for more than one service.

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TABLE D-3Question 2: Does your agency have a specific unit to monitor the performance of contracted services? If “Yes,” then how many employees does this unit employ?

Special Monitoring Unit	Number	Percent	Average No. of Employees
Yes	91	63%	4.2
No	53	37%	0
Total responding	144	100%

TABLE D-4Question 3: Do you monitor overhead costs for contracted services? If so, please check off the areas that you monitor.

Areas Monitored for Overhead Cost	Responding Systems
Contract administration	52
National Transit Database reporting	51
Vehicle inspection	50
Maintenance	49
Driver instruction	36
Cash counting	35
Operations management	31
Internal audit	28
Dispatch	26
Liability	25
Street supervision	23
Accounts payable	19
Workers compensation	18
Depreciation	11
Human resources	11
Other	11
Total responding	144

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TABLE D-5Question 4: We want to know your general views on contracting transit services. Rate the following areas in terms of the issues or benefits that you have experienced when contracting.

	Responding Systems
Area	Large Problems	Minor Problems	Neither/Depends	Some Benefits	Large Benefits
Operating costs	4	9	14	58	48
Cost-efficiency	3	12	8	68	45
Amount of service	5	10	40	33	38
Labor-management relations	4	14	50	24	25
Labor productivity	3	19	40	42	18
Ridership	2	7	60	46	9
Time demands on staff	12	32	38	22	22
Service quality	10	41	29	42	12
Employee morale	1	27	68	15	9
Accidents	7	13	81	18	4
On-time performance	13	38	47	28	5
Contract disputes	8	34	60	8	6
Customer service	17	51	23	29	10
Employee turnover	15	31	50	13	3
Workforce retention	20	32	37	11	9
NOTE: Each respondent was asked to check one response per area.

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TABLE D-6Question 5: Please describe the positive effects of contracting in more detail below.

Positive Effects	Responding Systems
Reduced operating cost	79
Reduced administration	35
Flexibility	29
Expertise of contractor	28
More service	23
Contractor handles all	14
Avoid capital costs	14
Competitive environment	12
Reduces hiring/staff	10
Public image/political	10
Only way to start ADA	8
Total responding	144
NOTE: Written answers were coded into categories by the committee.

TABLE D-7Question 6, Part 1: Please describe the negative effects of contracting in more detail below.

Negative Effects	Responding Systems
Limited control	59
Quality/customer service	48
Contractor issues	22
Communication	21
Turnover/low wages	20
Need to monitor	19
Personnel issues	14
Public/political issues	13
Diminishing returns	12
Union issues	7
Total responding	117
NOTE: Written answers were coded into categories by the committee.

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TABLE D-8Question 6, Part 2: Please describe any actions you took to mitigate these negative effects.

Action	Responding Systems
Improved contract	22
Communication	10
Personnel/training	7
Additional monitoring	7
Enforcement	2
Agency actions	2
Total responding	40
NOTE: Written answers were coded into categories by the committee.

TABLE D-9Question 7, Part 2: In your opinion, how have the results of transit service contracting met your expectations?

How Did Contracting Meet Expectations?	Responding Systems
Fully met	79
Partially met	54
Did not meet	6
Total responding	139

TABLE D-10Question 7, Part 2: If contracting did not meet or only partially met your expectations, please explain in more detail.

Why Contracting Fell Below Expectations	Responding Systems
Contractor issues	23
Service quality/customer service	23
Benefits not fully realized	13
Not enough control	6
Too few bidders	3
Personnel issues	4
Total responding	49
NOTE: Written answers were coded into categories by the committee.

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TABLE D-11Question 8: What advice would you give to an agency considering contracting for the first time?

Advice	Responding Systems
Outline specific duties/responsibilities	54
Specify performance requirements	47
Monitor contract performance	38
Scrutinize contractors beforehand	24
Talk to other agencies	23
Teamwork/communication with contractor	20
Competitive procedure, not low cost	19
Combine rewards and penalties	18
Clear mechanism to make changes	14
Identify elements to contract re agency goals	14
Specify wage rates/cost escalation	13
Penalty clauses/liquidated damages	12
Begin with internal cost analysis	12
Provide vehicles/facility/maintenance/eligibility	10
Be flexible	10
Broad involvement in RFP process	10
Contractor provides vehicle/fuel/routing	5
Other	18
Total responding	117
NOTE: Written answers were coded into categories by the committee.

TABLE D-12Questions 9 and 14: What year did your agency first begin contracting for fixed-route bus or demand-responsive services?

Year Began Contracting	Bus	DR	Other	Percent
1980 and prior	18	21	0	21%
1981–1985	18	19	0	20%
1986–1990	13	22	0	19%
1991–1995	13	39	1	29%
1996–2000	11	10	0	11%
Total responding	73	111	1	100%

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TABLE D-13Questions 10 and 15: To the best of your knowledge, what factors did you consider when deciding to contract for fixed-route bus or demand-response services?

Factors Considered	Major Reason	Important Factor	Minor Factor	Not a Factor
FIXED-ROUTE BUS
Start new services	33	14	5	23
Reduce costs	30	20	7	18
Improve cost-efficiency	26	21	8	20
Competitive environment	13	16	10	36
Expand services	12	19	5	39
More flexibility	10	16	14	35
Board direction	11	16	7	41
Higher-quality service	10	10	15	40
State mandate or law	3	5	4	63
Federal emphasis	2	3	13	57
DEMAND-RESPONSIVE
Start new services	50	25	7	35
Reduce costs	47	25	11	34
Improve cost-efficiency	49	22	14	32
Competitive environment	21	26	16	54
Expand services	22	26	11	58
More flexibility	13	34	17	53
Board direction	14	21	21	61
Higher-quality service	8	26	23	60
State mandate or law	14	7	6	90
Federal emphasis	6	7	17	87

TABLE D-14Questions 11 and 16: How do you obtain these bus or demand-responsive services?

How Services Obtained	Bus	DR	Other	Percent
Competitive bidding	36	57	1	47%
Negotiated procurement	10	22	0	16%
Combination	27	32	0	30%
Other	4	9	0	7%
Total responding	77	120	1	100%

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TABLE D-15Questions 12 and 17: How has the number of bidders changed overtime?

Change in Number of Bidders	Bus	DR	Total Contracts
Increased	11	11	22
Stayed about the same	53	78	131
Declined	9	22	32
Total responding	73	111	185

TABLE D-16Questions 13 and 18: If you do not competitively bid these services, why not?

Why Not Competitively Bid?	Bus	DR	Total Contracts
Satisfied with current	5	7	12
Few qualified firms	3	5	8
Board policy direction	1	3	4
Other	3	3	6
Total responding	12	18	30

TABLE D-17Question 19: Why do you not contract for transit services?

Reason for Not Contracting	Major Reason	Important Factor	Minor Factor	No Factor
Maintain control	33	18	9	27
Not cost-effective	22	25	6	34
No reason to change	18	23	9	37
Lack of qualified firms	11	9	9	58
Board direction	10	10	5	62
Union contract	7	9	4	67
Section 13c prevents	8	5	4	70
Too few bidders	7	6	0	74
Proposed bids too high	6	3	1	77
State laws limit ability	0	2	1	84

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TABLE D-18Question 20: Did your agency contract for transit services in the past?

Contract in Past?	Responding Systems
Yes	30
No	63
Total responding	93

TABLE D-19Question 20, Part 2: Why did you stop contracting?

Why Stop Contracting	Responding Systems
Regain control	7
Improve service quality	7
Cost savings in house	6
Contractor issues	6
Contractor opted out	6
Escalating costs	4
Few qualified contractors	3
Internal changes	2
Other	3
Total responding	30

TABLE D-20Question 21: If you had to do it all over again, and the choice were solely yours, would you contract for transit services now?

Would You Contract Now?	Responding Systems
Yes	104
No	65
Unsure	13
Total	182

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TABLE D-21Responses to Question 21 by Whether Systems Currently Contract or Do Not Contract

Would You Contract Now?	Currently Contract	Do Not Contract
Yes	89	15
No	16	49
Unsure	9	4
Total responding	114	68

TABLE D-22Question 21, Part 2: Why would you contract now (for those who answered yes to Part 1 of Question 21)?

Why Contract Now?	Responding Systems
Cost/cost-effectiveness	32
Positive experience	15
Flexibility	13
Minimizes administration	9
Timely/logical for ADA	7
Process works	7
Higher level of service	4
Political/public benefits	4
Other	9
Total	64

TABLE D-23Question 21, Part 2 (for those who answered no to Part 1 of Question 21): Why would you not contract now?

Why Not Contract?	Responding Systems
Direct control	12
System in place works	13
Service quality	8
Collaboration with union	2
Too many problems	6
Few qualified contractors	7
Not cost-effective	8
Total	40