This is a re-posting. The proposal deadline has been extended until August 1, 2018.

The Tulare County Association of Governments is accepting proposals for a Tulare County Regional Transit Coordination Study. Tulare County is located in Central California, in the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley. A largely agricultural area, the current estimated population for Tulare County is 475,834.

There are six independently operating transit agencies in the region, and most are experiencing decreasing ridership and increasing costs. Providing efficient service, meeting state and federal regulations, providing an easy-to-navigate and cohesive regional system, and other issues are arising that are becoming increasingly difficult to address via the current public transit structure in Tulare County.

There are several stated evaluation criteria to use for the different phases of the study, such as: cost-effectiveness, financial impact on local agencies, service efficiency, service coordination, system flexibility, governance types, oversight, ability to leverage funding and obtain grants, etc. Components of the study include: Current Conditions and Transit Agency Assessment; Best Practices and Emerging Transit Solutions; Coordination Needs Assessment; Coordination Recommendations and Financial Analysis. The total budget for the study is $165,000, and the estimated timeframe for completion is 14 months. Please see the RFP for more comprehensive details, posted at www.tularecog.org.

Written questions are due July 17th. Proposals are due to TCAG on August 1, 2018 by 5:00 p.m.

Three hard copies and one electronic copy must be submitted. Submissions should be addressed to: TCAG; Attn: Elizabeth Forte; 210 N. Church Street, Suite B; Visalia, CA 93291. For additional questions please contact Elizabeth Forte by email at ewright@tularecog.org.