Paratransit Scheduling and Dispatching Software

The Vendor is required to provide the functional, performance, installation, integration, project implementation, and training requirements for the deployment and use of paratransit scheduling and dispatching software (PSDS) for agency complementary paratransit service, known as paratransit access line (PAL).
- User Needs Requirements:
• Multiple communications channels
• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) with voice and touchtone functions
• Short Message Service (SMS) – text
• Website
• Smartphone application
• Trip booking platform
• All interfaces shall be compliant with current ADA requirements.
• Reserve, cancel, reschedule, and confirm trips
• Supports a digital customer application process, online, and downloadable pdf form, fillable on computer, or by hand and then uploaded
• Functionality that allows for direct communication between drivers and clients for brokered trips
• Provide no earlier than feature for pickups and no later than feature for drop-offs
• Generate more than one viable trip option (usually on either side of pickup request) (within
• ADA 60-minute maximum) without having to restart booking process or enter new times
• Confirm/add one PСА
• Confirm/add at least one companion
• Check/add/confirm mobility aids
• Enter addresses manually or using a dropdown menu
• Trip confirmations/cancellations
• Trip confirmations need to be robust and offer various options to do so, including trip confirmations by phone or online to eliminate/reduce need for customers to speak with a PAL representative to check on confirmed trips and to cancel or reschedule trips
• Ability to reschedule same-day return trip pickup time when appointments are running late
• Trip tracking
• Provide accurate and real-time updates when vehicle is in route
• Enable riders to track their assigned vehicle in real time on map
• Customer app for same-day service should integrate with advance reservation app
• Customer profile information will be available to the customer to view and update, as needed. Eligibility information and space-type related information will be viewable but not editable.
• Alert customer of any pending service interruption (service suspension, eligibility expiration) while interacting with the system
• Automated eligibility reminders
• Support for multiple languages (English, Spanish, etc.) - Scheduling
• Automated and batch scheduling
• Trip planning with fixed-route service options
• Automatic trip assignment
• Robust frequent destination feature
• Subscription templates
• Public-facing real-time map for fixed-route (bus) service
• Automatic process to inform drivers of their daily report time
- System needs and tools
• Scalable to increased operational size (trips, vehicles, clients) demonstrated through a scaling plan
• Ability to handle future services such as same-day scheduling, on-demand trips and micro transit
• Integration with other apps via APIs (third-party, other providers, paratransit booking app, etc.)
• Clearly display service area maps and service spans with ability to automate service policy changes, showing which addresses are inside outside the service area.
- The software applications shall run fully in the user context and shall not require elevated permissions or administrative permissions on the desktop.
- Provide details on the cloud infrastructure used, such as public cloud providers (e.g., amazon AWS, or Microsoft azure) or private cloud setups.
- Include information on data sovereignty and the geographic locations where the data is stored (preferably in at least two parallel data centers in two different geographic locations).
- Provide details on the benefits of cloud hosting, such as scalability, high availability, and disaster recovery capabilities; provide SLAS for each as well.
- Clearly define the approach for software hosting and access (e.g., Citrix's independent computing architecture [ICA] protocol, Microsoft's remote desktop protocol [RDP] over secure virtual private network (VPN) connection, completely web based. application accessible via hypertext transport protocol secure [https]) on standard web browsers (e.g., Microsoft edge, Mozilla Firefox, google chrome, and apple safari).
- Describe the minimum computer hardware and browser requirements (e.g., minimum random-access memory [ram] requirements for map rendering, java run-time environment [JRE] for java-based web applications).
- Describe the administrative needs to add users to the system.
- Contract Period/Term: 2 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: March 31, 2025