Graphic: From Microtransit Provides an Opportunity to Thrive
Client Question:
How can we procure the best on-demand transport (ODT) operations software for our particular needs?
Civic Sphere worked with Gwinnett County Transit (GCT) in the Atlanta metro area, Georgia, USA in partnership with Kimley-Horn’s office in San Francisco, California, USA in 2018-19. GCT, having experienced a successful ODT pilot, was ready to scale up to a full ODT service. This required selecting the right software to support its ODT operations through a competitive procurement process. GCT wanted to ensure a smooth procurement process that involved the relevant stakeholders and resulted in the best choice.
The answer? To establish what the “best” choice would be, Civic Sphere established all of GCT’s requirements for the various software platform components. In order to gather the requirements, we conducted several collaborative work sessions with operational and planning staff (bus drivers, dispatchers, IT staff, managers, etc.) to understand their needs. The call for tender document was created with a “required or preferred” feature structure so that GCT could specify which features were absolutely needed (required) or optional but important (preferred). Each respondent was required to indicate “yes, no, or maybe” for each feature (with an explanation required for “maybe”). This way, when GCT reviews the proposals they can compare the software platforms objectively according to how well each one meets the requirements. GCT was also advised to conduct interviews with short-listed candidates, taking part in a live product demo that proves each feature works as indicated by the candidate.
How can we procure the best on-demand transport (ODT) operations software for our particular needs?
Civic Sphere worked with Gwinnett County Transit (GCT) in the Atlanta metro area, Georgia, USA in partnership with Kimley-Horn’s office in San Francisco, California, USA in 2018-19. GCT, having experienced a successful ODT pilot, was ready to scale up to a full ODT service. This required selecting the right software to support its ODT operations through a competitive procurement process. GCT wanted to ensure a smooth procurement process that involved the relevant stakeholders and resulted in the best choice.
The answer? To establish what the “best” choice would be, Civic Sphere established all of GCT’s requirements for the various software platform components. In order to gather the requirements, we conducted several collaborative work sessions with operational and planning staff (bus drivers, dispatchers, IT staff, managers, etc.) to understand their needs. The call for tender document was created with a “required or preferred” feature structure so that GCT could specify which features were absolutely needed (required) or optional but important (preferred). Each respondent was required to indicate “yes, no, or maybe” for each feature (with an explanation required for “maybe”). This way, when GCT reviews the proposals they can compare the software platforms objectively according to how well each one meets the requirements. GCT was also advised to conduct interviews with short-listed candidates, taking part in a live product demo that proves each feature works as indicated by the candidate.
