Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER APPROVING THE PURCHASE OF TWO ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) MINIBUSES FROM A-Z BUS SALES, INC. AT A DO-NOT-EXCEED TOTAL COST OF $546,823.62 (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
The City provides fixed-route bus service through Long Beach Transit (LBT) and Carson Circuit. The City owns and maintains its own fleet of four buses to operate the Carson Circuit as an in-house program. With the advent of electric vehicles (EVs) for both personal and commercial applications, a growing number of transit agencies have started integrating EV busses into their fleets. In light of this transition, staff would like to purchase two EV busses as a pilot. Data will be gathered and assessed from this pilot before making a future recommendation to replace the remaining fleet with EV units.
As with most new technologies, upfront costs to purchase EV busses are considerable. Staff have identified a funding opportunity through California's Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) for discount vouchers of up to $60,000 per bus. Authorized dealers require a purchase order from the City to bid for these vouchers on behalf of the City. In preparation for this imminent opportunity, staff issued an Invitation for Bids (IFB) on February 24, 2022 for the purchase of two EV minibuses.
A response to the solicitation was submitted by:
Coachwest Luxury & Performance Motorcars, Inc.
$408,743.38
A-Z Bus Sales
$520,784.40
Electric Vehicle Conversions (EVC)
$570,892.50
Creative Bus Sales
$589,181.90
A-Z Bus Sales, Inc. (A-Z) was selected as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, with a total bid amount of $520,784.40. Although the bid from Coachwest Luxury & Performance Motorcars, Inc. came in lower than A-Z, they were not an authorized HVIP dealer at the time of submission, as specified in the solicitation. For any unforeseen expenditures, an additional $26,039.22 (5%), is requ...
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