Council Buys Bus Tracking Devices and Bullnose-edge Consoles

By Elizabeth Schneider

October 22 -- The City Council unanimously gave the go ahead Tuesday night to spend $8,348,107.90 on everything from new furniture for the Public Safety Facility and contracted geotechnical safety reports to state-of-the-art technology for the Big Blue Bus.

For the big ticket item, the City will shell out $6.3 million to purchase a new bus management system. The package includes bus radios, Global Positioning, Automatic Vehicle location, and Computer Aided Dispatch systems as well as Automatic Passenger Counters, scheduling and trip planning software and an Interactive Voice Response system.

According to the staff report the new equipment will improve operational efficiency and service quality as well as reduce travel times and operating, training, and maintenance costs. The five-year maintenance agreement for the system will cost the city an additional $939,547.

The council also approved $790,000 to maintain contracts with licensed geotechnical engineers and engineering geologists hired to create reports prior to construction permitting on most major city projects. State law mandates that Santa Monica require, review and approve these reports prior to undertaking projects due to liquefaction potential and other geologic hazards.

More than a quarter of a million dollars will go towards furnishing the new Public Safety Facility, expected to be completed in Spring 2003. Furniture manufacturer Evans Consoles, Inc. was chosen for their "ergonomic features," even though it will come at a cost to the city.

"Only Evans Consoles, Inc. provides a rounded, bullnose-edge console which maximizes operator comfort during extended shifts," read the staff report.

"Although dispatch furnishings without the bullnose-edge were estimated to be approximately $500 less than the Evans Consoles, Inc. product, the ergonomic superiority outweighs the difference in cost," the staff report concluded.