The Town of Morrisville (further referred to as “the Town”) is soliciting Statements of Qualifications from qualified firm(s) or organization(s) to provide assistance in its efforts to prepare a Comprehensive Public Transportation Study, which will consider the feasibility of offering public transportation services and solutions to the various constituent groups living and working in Morrisville, including residents, workers, commuters, students, seniors, and disabled persons.

The Town seeks to identify qualified transit professionals with experience in preparing comprehensive public transportation studies using a robust outreach process, which should include both traditional and non-traditional multimodal services and use of emerging technologies to help guide the Town in evaluating the feasibility and possible needs of future local public transportation services in and around Morrisville that would complement the regional services provided in the Wake Transit Plan, as well as provide planning-level cost estimates.

This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) seeks to identify potential providers for the above-mentioned services. All respondents to this RFQ are subject to instructions communicated in this document and are cautioned to completely review the entire RFQ and follow instructions carefully.

General Information

Morrisville is a thriving community in the heart of the Triangle area of North Carolina. The Town is a crossroads in the region with great access to Research Triangle Park, major transportation hubs like Interstate Highways 40 and 540 and Raleigh‐Durham International Airport, and the State Capital. The Triangle area has been repeatedly ranked among the top regions in the country to live, work, start a business, raise a family and/or retire. Morrisville has approximately 10 square miles within its borders and according to the Office of State Budget and Management, the population was 25,242 as of July 1, 2017. Town staff estimates the population is 28, 599 as of July 2018, with a potential to grow to 36,250 by 2023 and reach nearly 47,000 by 2030.

The Town is located in Wake County, which has adopted a countywide Transit Plan (the Wake Transit Plan) identifying future local and regional bus, bus rapid transit and commuter rail transit services for the County. The Wake Transit Plan includes plans for regional bus service and commuter rail transit service in Morrisville, which are proposed to be funded using federal, state and local funds. The source of the local funds is a ½-cent County Sales Tax, which was approved in a countywide voter referendum in November 2016. The Wake Transit Plan also includes a Community Funding Area program, which will allow the Town to apply for the local transit funds (funded by the ½-cent sales tax) for additional local transit services that are not identified in the countywide transit plan. For more information on the Wake Transit Plan and the Community Funding Area Program, please visit www.goforwardnc.org/wake.

In 2017, the Town conducted a National Citizens Survey of residents through the National Research Center, in which public transportation and transit was one area listed by citizens in which the Town could improve. More information on the National Citizens Survey, as well as the results, is available on the Town’s website: https://www.townofmorrisville.org/residents/national-citizen-survey. Starting in 2017 and adopted in April 2018, the Town’s Strategic Plan, Connect Morrisville, builds on the National Citizen Survey and provides a strategic direction for the Town. The first goal in the Strategic Plan is Improved Transportation Mobility, including improving mobility for non-drivers and enhancing public transportation options. More information about the Strategic Plan is available on the Town’s website: http://www.townofmorrisville.org/StrategicPlan.

The Town’s current Transportation Plan was adopted in 2009. The Town began working on a Comprehensive Transportation Plan Update (CTP Update) to the 2009 Transportation Plan in 2016, and adoption is anticipated in the next several months. The Town has included the regional public transit services identified in the Wake Transit Plan in the CTP Update, and plans to use the findings of this Study to amend the CTP Update. Both the 2009 Transportation Plan and the CTP Update are available on the Planning Department’s website: http://www.townofmorrisville.org/planning.

Proposed Scope of Work and Deliverables

To be considered for selection, the Firm shall be qualified and able to deliver the following services for the identified study. The following scope of work outlines the tasks associated with the Town’s desire to study and identify public transportation services and solutions for the improvement of mobility within and throughout the Town.

Suggested deliverables are described below and should be considered tentative:

Task 1: Communication and Public Engagement

• Provide Community Engagement Plan describing the concept and practice to be used, including the principles and frameworks for effective community engagement.
• Identify Community Engagement Best Practices to be used for engaging the public that have proven to be successful in similar studies.

Task 2: Existing and Future Conditions and Need Analysis

Evaluate existing plans, proposals and data set forth by the Town such as:

• Land use and demographic analyses.

• Local and regional plans, including long-range transportation plans, corridor & subarea studies, multi-modal transportation planning, and transit plans.

• Travel Demand Model and forecasts including any updates, improvements, enhancements etc.
• Prepare market analysis to build and expand upon Wake Transit efforts.
• Conduct origin/destination and mode share studies as necessary.
• Identify and document needs and potential opportunities and barriers for implementing and operating a public transit system and provide recommendations for addressing those barriers.

Task 3: Evaluate methods of delivery of Public Transportation Services and Potential Service Provider models

• Provide an evaluation of the variety of methods that can be used to provide public transportation services, such as fixed-route, demand-response and other methods and technologies.
• Provide an evaluation of service provider models, including utilizing existing transit service providers in the region. This evaluation should also include the Town being a service provider.

Task 4: Develop options for a Public Transportation Framework and Financial Plan

• Based on Tasks above, identify one or more preferred public transportation frameworks for the Town, including type of service (i.e. fixed-route, demand-response, shared services, etc.) and options for service provider(s).
• Identify potential routing of any route-based service, including potential stop locations based on the origin/destination study completed in Task 2.
• Identify potential schedule options, including number of hours per day and number of days per week for public transportation service.
• Provide cost estimates for preferred public transportation framework, including utilizing different service provider models.
• Provide potential service metrics for preferred framework, for use by the Town in future funding applications.
• Provide a Five-Year Capital and Operating Plan for each option that includes financial projections.
• Provide funding options available to the Town (including existing and potential funding sources).

Each task shall be combined and form the basis for a comprehensive report entitled Town of Morrisville Public Transportation Study that will be subjected to a three-stage review process. Town staff will review the draft and advise the consultant of needed changes — this stage may consist of up to three review cycles. When the changes have been finalized, the consultant will be advised to produce a draft for presentation to the Planning and Zoning Board for their review and comments. Following the presentation to the Planning and Zoning Board, one additional review cycle may be necessary to include any changes recommended by the Planning and Zoning Board. When any changes that result from the Planning and Zoning Board review have been finalized, the consultant will produce a draft for Town Council presentation and review. Additional changes to the document may be required after the Town Council review process.

To view the entire RFQ and Submittal Requirements, please visit https://www.townofmorrisville.org/businesses/bid-proposal-opportunities

Deadline for Submittal is Monday, December 3, 2018, at 3:00 PM EST.