RFI 2023-09 LAVTA Shared Autonomous Vehicles (SAV)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA) and its project partner, the City of Dublin (City), are conducting a Shared Autonomous Vehicle (SAV) systems engineering project to explore the feasibility of deploying a first/last mile transit service in the vicinity of the East Dublin/Pleasanton Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station. This service would serve as a first/last-mile connector between the BART station and nearby business, residential, and commercial developments.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) has designated the East Dublin/Pleasanton Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Station and its surrounding area as a Transit Priority Area (TPA) and a Priority Development Area (PDA). The area around the BART station has gone through the development of a Transit Area Plan and has been designated as the Dublin Transit Center. To date, the Dublin Transit Center has developed 1,556 residential units with ground floor retail. The Dublin Crossing Specific Plan is developing up to 1,995 residential units and up to 200,000 square feet of commercial uses in an area north of the Transit Area Plan area, across Dublin Boulevard. As of now, 1,758 residential units have been in development with 24 high-density neighborhoods. This development is along Dublin Boulevard located inside the TPA and/or PDA, or within one-quarter of a mile of where SAV services would be provided.

This project builds on a Phase 1 effort that culminated in a demonstration of SAV shuttle service near the BART station in early 2021. During Phase 1, an EasyMile SAV shuttle operated autonomously for over 500 miles, carrying 116 passengers along a test route from the BART Station to the intersection near the Persimmon Place Shopping Center on Martinelli Way. The initial phase was successful and well received by the public, but the SAV was limited to slow travel speeds (below 10 mph) and only operated on a short segment.

Phase 2 of the project is intended to build on this success by expanding service to a longer, more complex fixed route that connects the BART station with nearby businesses and employment centers. The SAV would initially operate at 15-minute headways to align with the typical weekday BART schedule. The Phase 2 project would also allow LAVTA and the City to test the infrastructure’s readiness for the SAV implementation. The City and LAVTA would test the SAV between the BART Station and existing housing and job centers along the SAV route where it might serve as a solution to address the first and last mile transit connectivity challenge and improve access for transit and alternative modes. The SAV project would also help in improving the overall safety and mobility around the route, reducing greenhouse emissions, increasing usage of public transportation, and evaluating future possibilities for public transit services to communities not currently served.

Return Response to:	LAVTA Attn: Jennifer Yeamans          jyeamans@lavta.org	Request for Information (RFI) RFI #2023-09 Shared Autonomous Vehicles (SAV)
Point of Contact: Jennifer Yeamans     jyeamans@lavta.org
SOLICITATION SCHEDULE
Issue Date: September 14, 2023 RFI Response Due Date: September 29, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. PDT
Submittal Instructions: Responses will be received via email to Jennifer Yeamans at jyeamans@lavta.org until the date and time indicated above. Hard copy submissions will NOT be accepted. Hard copies received will be returned (unopened) to Responders without consideration.
Addendum: An Addendum may be issued to this solicitation. Any such Addendum will be posted on LAVTA’s website. Prior to submitting your response, please visit our website to download any Addenda that may have been issued. Please remember to sign and return the Addendum Acknowledgment Form (to be included with any Addendum) with your completed Response Package.

For details of the RFI click here.

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