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TO: |
Board of Trustees |
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FROM: |
Vi Miller, Chief Financial Officer |
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PRESENTER(S): |
Brian Reeves, Associate Chief Financial Officer |
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Monica Howe, Fares Director |
TITLE:
title
Change Order: Next Generation Fare Collection System Change Order No. 17 - Mobile Fare Solution: Virtual Transit Card (Scheidt & Bachman USA, Inc.)
end
AGENDA ITEM TYPE:
Procurement Contract/Change Order
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve and authorize the Executive Director to execute Change Order 17 and associated disbursements on contract 22-03566 in the amount of $4,057,963 with Scheidt & Bachmann USA, Inc. for Mobile Fare Solution: Virtual Transit Card (VTC).
BACKGROUND:
On March 22, 2023, the Board of Trustees approved a contract with Scheidt & Bachman USA, Inc. (S&B) to implement the next generation fare collection system. This agreement outlines a phased modernization of UTA’s fare collection system, including updated hardware and software, as well as expanded fare payment capabilities such as open payment and mobile payment.
Since the agreement was executed, advancements in fare payment technology have accelerated, prompting the Fares’ team to realign future mobile fare strategy in alignment with emerging industry standards. To do this, UTA Fares’ team engaged Clevor Consulting to perform a collaborative review of UTA stakeholder’s needs, gather best practices from peer agencies, and evaluate innovative technologies for mobile fare payment.
Based on this work, Clevor recommended, and UTA staff agreed, that best approach is to add a mobile FAREPAY Card option directly to the Apple and Google Wallet. This enhancement positions UTA at the forefront of mobile payment technology, reduces reliance on physical cards, and will be available for both general public riders and institutional partners.
UTA currently uses Masabi as the mobile ticketing backend service in coordination with the Transit App, thereby enabling customers to purchase and activate time-based passes on their smartphones. While this platform supports basic mobile ticketing, it relies on visual inspection, does not integrate with UTA’s new account-based fare system, and cannot support mobile IDs for institutional partners transitioning away from physical cards. These limitations are key drivers behind UTA’s pursuit of direct mobile integrations with Apple and Google as part of the new fare system.
DISCUSSION:
UTA Staff requests approval of Change Order 17 (CO 17) to the Next Generation Fare System agreement with Scheidt & Bachmann for implementation of the Virtual Transit Card, enabling customers to add a mobile FAREPAY card to Apple Wallet and Google Wallets.
The Change Order sets into motion UTA’s next generation mobile fare strategy. Designated as Phase 5 of the project, this change order will enable customers to provision a UTA FAREPAY card directly into the Apple or Google Wallet.
The Board approved 2026 budget for this phase, with expenditures expected to occur according to the following schedule:
Implementation (2026 through 2027)
The one-time implementation cost for implementation is $3,540,000. With the reallocation of $922,987 from prior mobile app scope in prior phases, the actual net contract amount increases $2,617,013. This will be paid by UTA to S&B upon completion of project milestones. See fiscal impact for additional details.
Service and Variable Pricing (2028 through March 31, 2031)
CO 17 will increase the current Service Level Agreement (SLA) pricing by $250,000 per year for the remainder of the original contract term (term ending March 31, 2031). The total additional cost is $812,500. This SLA change includes up to 250,000 Active VTC users annually.
CO 17 will also introduce two new variable pricing categories, Active VTC (Users > 250,000) and Apple Wallet:
• Active VTC (Users > 250,000): An annualized fee of $1.25 per active user applied pro-rata monthly ($0.1042 per active user) for each provisioned card that UTA surpasses 250,000 active users within a month
o Staff estimate that UTA will not exceed 250,000 users during the term of this contract
• Apple Wallet: $1.25 fee for each new Apple Wallet VTC Provisioning (estimated to be 58% of new users).
o Estimated per annum expenditure can be found in the Fiscal Impact
These fees are standard within the mobile wallet ecosystem and are based on platform requirements from Apple and Google. S&B will invoice UTA monthly for the variable fees.
CONTRACT SUMMARY:
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Contractor Name: |
Scheidt & Bachmann USA, Inc. |
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Contract Number: |
22-03566-17 |
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Base Contract Effective Dates: |
April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2031 |
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Extended Contract Dates: |
N/A |
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Existing Contract Value: |
$33,455,441.75 |
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Amendment Amount: |
$4,057,963.00 |
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New/Total Contract Value: |
$37,513,404.75 |
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Procurement Method: |
Competitive Bid (RFP) |
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Budget Authority: |
Approved 2026 Capital Budget |
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ALTERNATIVES:
If this item is not procured, UTA will be unable to issue mobile FAREPAY cards in Apple or Google Wallets, limiting the agency to its current Masabi based mobile ticketing solution, which does not integrate with the new account-based fare system and cannot support mobile IDs for institutional partners. UTA would need to evaluate alternative mobile fare options, many of which would require significant additional development, higher long-term costs, or parallel systems that increase operational complexity.
FISCAL IMPACT:
An increase to the contract value in the amount of $4,057,963.00.
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Implementation |
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2026-27 |
$ 3,540,000.00 |
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Reallocation |
$ (922,987.00) |
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A |
Total Implementation |
$ 2,617,013.00 |
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SLA |
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2028 |
$ 250,000.00 |
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2029 |
$ 250,000.00 |
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2030 |
$ 250,000.00 |
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2031 |
$ 72,950.00 |
*Represents Jan-March 30, 2031 Only |
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B |
Total SLA |
$ 822,950.00 |
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Variable Costs (estimated) |
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Apple 2028 |
$ 99,000.00 |
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Apple 2029 |
$ 185,000.00 |
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Apple 2030 |
$ 250,000.00 |
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Apple 2031 |
$ 84,000.00 |
*Represents Jan-March 30, 2031 Only |
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Active Users Over 250k (2028-2031) |
$ - |
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C |
Total Variable |
$ 618,000.00 |
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Total Contract Value (A,B,C) |
$ 4,057,963.00 |
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• 2026/27 Change Order Total*: $2,617,013.00 Account # 40-2222.68000.8004
• 2028 Change Order Total: $349,000.00 Account # 40-2222.68000.8004
• 2029 Change Order Total: $435,000.00 Account # 40-2222.68000.8004
• 2030 Change Order Total: $500,000.00 Account # 40-2222.68000.8004
• 2031 Change Order Total: $156,950.00 Account # 40-2222.68000.8004
Change Order Total: $4,057,963.00
Contract Total: $37,513,404.00
*Allocated 2026 funds related to this Change Order that are not used in 2026 will be placed into the 2027 budget for this same Change Order.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Change Order: Next Generation Fare Collection System Change Order No. 17 - Mobile Fare Solution: Virtual Transit Card (Scheidt & Bachman USA, Inc.)