Request for Proposal

Engineering Department at CCNY

Introduction:

The MTA located at 303 W 116^th Street, New York, NY 10026 is soliciting bids/Proposals from Architect/Engineer (A&E) teams to plan and design an updated seat for the MTA Subway system in NYC. The project will be called “Comfort Commute”.

Project Description:

“Comfort Commute” aims to revitalize our public transportation in NYC through offering our nearly 6 million daily commuters a more comfortable, safe and pleasant commute to their destination. To deliver this the MTA wishes to take RFP’s from top engineering firms and individuals. These proposals should enable the upfit of one subway car to be done for under $20,000 focused around more comfortable seating and amenities. The top three proposals will be chosen by the MTA Board of Directors and given an allowance of $20,000 to build a prototype subway car to present at the 2020 MTA fair. The winner will obtain the contract to outfit all subway cars by 2022 and complete “Comfort Commute”. We are looking for unique, green, affordable, breaking edge ideas that will separate you from the competition. Proposals should also come with simple hand sketches to allow visualization of the product.

Preparation of Proposal:

Proposals should be sent to 303 W 116^th St, New York, NY 10026 with a cover page. The cover page should include Firm/Team name, name and address of bidder, and at least 3 hard copies for review.

Pre-Qualification:

In order to be eligible to submit a proposal for “Comfort Commute”, a team must be a legally licensed Engineer or Architect in the NYC area with at least 4 years of experience. They must also not have any outstanding balances or legal issues with NYC.

Scope of Work:

Each Proposal should have the following:

–          Cover Page (Team name, address, logo)

–          Brief team member background and titles

–          Description of Proposal

–          List of items that you believe separate your proposal from others.

–          Drawings

–          Pricing per unit (1 subway car)

–          Timeline Proposal if selected to complete project

–          Conclusion (briefly explain why your team should be selected)

Selection Criteria:

These criteria will be strictly graded by the MTA board of directors for each proposal on a scale from 1-10. 10 being the best. Top 3 proposals advance. Top score being 50.

–          Price

–          Car Capacity

–          Ingenuity

–          Timeline Plan

–          Team Experience

Thank you for expressing your interest in a Proposal for the “Comfort Commute” project for the MTA. We look forward to reviewing the proposals of our talented NYC architects and engineers and selecting the most deserving concept.

Sincerely,

Tom Prender

 

                            Proposal for Comfort Commute

Roman Cook

Carlton Yuan

Sameer Kunwor

Sambeg Raj Subedi

160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031

 Our Team

Roman Cook (Team Lead)– Roman is a professional engineer that has worked in the industry for 4 years. He focuses on projects that take a unique and creative perspective enabling him to use his skill sets to solve complex problems. At The Builders Group, Roman organizes and helps provide leadership for the team and guides the vision to completion. He enjoys working with his hands and watching sports on the weekends. His motto is “whatever it takes to get it done”.

Carlton Yuan (Team Researcher)– Carlton is a transportation engineer with a Masters degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has been working with the NYC Department of education as a transportation analyst for 10 years. As a transportation analyst, Carlton researches and conducts surveys in order to create the best experience for kids on yellow buses while also considering the budget.

Sameer Kunwor (Team Organizer)– Sameer is a professional transport engineer focuses on design and develop transport systems. He is overseeing projects, negotiating with contractors, analyzing data, making traffic policy suggestions, training technical staff, and evaluating engineering plans created by other engineers within NYC for almost 5 years. Regarded as organizer, he manages the meetings, production, assigns tasks and coordinates with engineers, technicians and overall preparing and circulating agendas.

Sambeg Raj Subedi (Visual Design)– Sambeg is a professional engineer who is contributing  this field for  past 5 years. He is associated in US Department of Transportation(DOT) as a Transportation Planning & Management team member. His key roles is to plan , design, deliver, manage and review transport, balancing the needs of society, the economy and the environment.

 

 

Proposal: Comfort Commute

 

The Builder Group proposes a new seating concept that allows MTA passengers to be more comfortable, feel safer and have more amenities all while keeping the classic subway look and feel. We will accomplish this by designing individual seats that snap into a base that is easily installed on the subway car floor. Below are detailed…

Capacity:

The average subway car has approximately 50 seats available. Often, they are in the form of bucket seats leading to passengers being able to take advantage of using several seats at once either on purpose or by accident. Our seat design will allow a comparable number of seats for passengers while not allowing individuals to use more than one seat at once. This will allow the seats to be maximized on each subway car. More so, our studies show removable seat covers for storage will allow 10-15 more passengers per car

Safety: 

This is an aspect that is always an utmost importance at The Builders Group. We intend to add several features to the seats that make each passenger feel safer no matter the age. The seat itself will have “flares” on each side of the seat. These “flares” not only keep a passenger snug and secure while in transit but serve a dual purpose for limiting one passenger per seat. The “flares” will force a passenger into one spot (the seat) but also make them feel secure as well.

Secondly, we intend on adding retractable seat belts. These seat belts will not be mandatory but will help parents with children and keeping them safe in transit. Enabling parents less stress in the commute of keeping up with children and ultimately giving them peace of mind.

Lastly, the material used for the seat cover will allow for ample friction to allow a passenger to not slip and slide in transit. After testing the current MTA seats made of plastic, they are not enough in this regard. Our recycled materials cushion will allow passengers to not only be comfortable but stay in one spot while sitting.

As we know, subway trains are one of the safer choices of transportation in the city but that doesn’t mean there are not ways to improve safety. We aim to do just that.

Amenities:

Each seat will be its own unit. By that we mean when a commuter takes a seat, they will have the ability to use all their seat amenities to themselves. This is a key aspect of our proposal.

Each seat will include:

–          USB plug in at the front base of seat for charging phones, iPads, etc… on the go

–          A removable seat with a bin that allows for storage in transit

–          Speaker in top of seat for clear announcements

After doing commuter polls, several items of need were clear. The MTA is far behind on technology and USB ports at each seat should be minimal. Bags, backpacks and typical transit items multiplied by a full car are prohibiting much of the space. We feel addressing this with seat storage will allow approximately 10-15 more passengers per car. Lastly, many complained they couldn’t hear important PA announcements. This would be fixed with a small speaker strategically installed in the seat.

Design:

The individual seats will be made at a factory in the USA predominantly from recycled materials. One unit or one seat will be comprised of a “body”, a “cushion” and be attached to a “foundation”. The simplicity of the design is the beauty from our perspective. It will be easily installed and if one breaks easily replaced.

The foundation:

The foundation will be made from metal with a powder coat finish to prevent rust and provide durability. Attaching it to the floor of a subway car will be easy for construction teams allowing for seats to snap into place after. The foundation will provide a strong and dependable base for the seats.

The body:

The body will be the chair portion of the assembly. It will be made of recycled plastics that will match the colors of the current subway themes to keep the authentic and historic feel in the subway cars. Each individual body will snap into the foundation with ease. After, one screw will be attached to the subway wall through the seat and be hidden by a plastic button. Each body will come with a pre-wired speaker in the top of the body and a pre-wired USB in the front. The connections will be easy to hide in the body and allow for quality amenities.

The seat:

The seat will be easy to pop on and off and cheap to replace. It will be made with a recycled plastic base and a recycled anti-slide rubber top that is easy to clean and doesn’t attract dust and dirt. The seat will be easy to remove to use the storage unit within the body.

The Builder Group believes in simple yet unique solutions which this design delivers. It is also affordable and allows for minimal upkeep/cleaning. Visual sketches follow in the proposal.

Items that differentiate our design:

–          Green products maximized in design

–          Ample amenities such as USB, storage unit, speakers, comfort, etc…

–          Economical design

–          Easy installation

–          Keep original colors and look of subway

–          Safety factors

–          Quick and decisive timeline of 1 year to complete upfit

Pricing:

At the Builders Group we always bring economics into our designs. The Comfort Commute project is no different. Below is a break down of the price to complete one car in full. We believe the final price will reflect our design and be very competitive with the market.

The Foundation:

–          Hardware $150

–          Foundation build per unit $400

–          Powder coating per unit $75

Total (*10): $6,250 per car

 

The Body:

–          Plastic mold per body: $125

–          Speaker per body: $50

–          USB port per body: $50

 

Total (*50 seats): $11,250 per car

 

The Seat:

–          Rubber cushion: $5

–          Plastic mold: $5

Total (*50 seat): $500

Total cost per Car: $18,000

Timeline to Complete Project:

The timeline to complete Comfort Commute, if selected, was a high priority in our design. The design is engineered so we can install the seats quickly and efficiently which is a strength in our proposal. Below is the proposed timeline and strategy to upfit the subway cars.

After speaking with numerous contractors, a subway car will take four-man crew 4 hours to uninstall previous seating and 4 hours to install The Builders Group’s new design. Demo and installation should be done at night to allow minimal interruption. With 10 four-man teams working per night, the estimated time to fully outfit one subway train consisting of 10 cars (the average) would be one night. With an estimated 250 subway trains in action around the NYC MTA, the proposed upfit will be completed in one year (working schedule MON-FRI).

 

This timeline would surpass the MTA’s hopes of a 2-year plan between 2020-2022 and enable it to be complete in 2020 alone. This aggressive approach paired with our easily installed, affordable design will separate The Builders Group from the competition.

Conclusion:

The Comfort Commute is a wonderful idea to rejuvenate excitement for the MTA subway system and add quality, up to date technology in an outdated system. The Builder Group has enjoyed designing, pricing and planning a new seat system that makes sense for the people of New York and the MTA system. We believe the design checks all the boxes and will separate itself from the competition. It brings an economical, technological, unique design to the table and it would be doable in under a year. It provides jobs for our community and comfortable commuting for the years to come. It has been an honor to submit the proposal and look forward to the reviewing process.

Sincerely,

The Builder Group