WMATA - Bus Priority Violation Detection System FOIA
| Tracking # |
COBTR222155 |
| Submitted | March 3, 2023 |
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Communications
From: Kory Saulnier
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the DC Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
The following information regarding Solicitation No. 0000008611 for the Bus Priority Violation Detection System:
-Evaluation scores/notes related to ALL proposers
-Submitted responses of ALL proposers (with the exception of Verra Mobility)
-Debrief documents related to ALL proposers
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 15 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Kory Saulnier
From: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has received your request for records. More information on the PARP/Privacy process is available on line at: https://www.wmata.com/about/records/
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following DC Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 3, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has received your request for records.
More information on the PARP/Privacy process is available online at: https://www.wmata.com/about/records/.
From: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Dear Mr. Saulnier:
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) acknowledges receipt of your March 6, 2023 Public Access to Records Policy (PARP) request regarding Solicitation No. 0000008611 for the Bus Priority Violation Detection System. Specifically, you requested the following:
1. Evaluation scores/notes related to ALL proposers
2. Submitted responses of ALL proposers (with the exception of Verra Mobility)
3. Debrief documents related to ALL proposers
Your request is being processed pursuant to WMATA's Public Access to Records Policy (PARP).[1]
Partial Decision
Pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.3 (exempt by statute - F.A.R. Section 24.202 - a proposal shall not be made available under the Freedom of Information Act unless it is incorporated into a contract) and PARP Exemption 6.1.4 (confidential commercial information), we deny all portions of your request that pertain to companies other than the successful offeror. There is a difference between a successful and unsuccessful offer for a government contract in terms of expectation of confidentiality, and there is a stronger public interest in the disclosure of awarded contract information than unsuccessful proposals. See Raytheon Co. v. Dep't of Navy, No. CIV. A. 89-2481, 1989 WL 550581, at *5 (D.D.C. Dec. 22, 1989) (quoting Racal-Milgo Government Systems, Inc. v. Small Business Admin., 559 F. Supp. 4, 6 (D.D.C. 1981)). Unsuccessful proposals are not incorporated in a final awarded contract, and thus, those records are withheld.
Pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.5 (deliberative process privilege), bid evaluation documents are exempt from disclosure because they contain WMATA staff evaluations and recommendations regarding the proposals. See MCI Telecommunications Corp. v. General Services Admin., No. 89-0746, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3623 (D.D.C. 1992).
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Although we are not yet able to provide any responsive records, we can impart the following general information regarding your request:
Time Period for Processing Requests
WMATA generally aims to respond to a request for records within 20 business days following receipt of the request. WMATA processes requests in the order that requests are received. Furthermore, additional processing time is required for requests that prove to be complex.
Please be advised that your request includes records submitted to WMATA by a third party, which requires us to contact the third party to identify confidential and proprietary information. WMATA will not release any records until it has had the opportunity to consult with the third party and received appropriate feedback.
Exemptions
The PARP provides exemptions for certain types of data, including: (1) information that could compromise WMATA infrastructure or security; (2) information that is solely related to the internal personnel rules and practices; (3) information that is exempt by statute; (4) proprietary commercial or financial information; (5) intra-agency and inter-agency memoranda information which would not be made available by law to a party in litigation with WMATA; (6) information that, if released, would cause a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; (7) certain information compiled for law enforcement purposes; (8) registered SmarTrip® information; and (9) customer financial information. Generally, WMATA's response will not include any exempt information.
Processing Fees
The PARP also provides for the assessment of fees associated with a request that requires more than two hours of staff time to process. These fees are calculated at the employees' basic rate of pay, plus an additional 50 percent to cover benefits. In general, a request is considered an agreement to pay all applicable fees. Advance payment is required where the fees are likely to exceed $250. We will provide you an estimation of fees prior to the processing of any possible responsive records.
Appeal Rights
If you wish to appeal WMATA's decision, in accordance with PARP § 9.1, you may file a written appeal of the action with the Executive Vice President, External Relations (or designee) at PARP_Appeal@wmata.com<mailto:PARP_Appeal@wmata.com>, within 30 business days of the date of this decision letter. Further details about our appeals process can be found on our website.
Future correspondence should reference the request number noted in the subject line of this correspondence. If you have any questions, please contact me, if I am unavailable, you may contact Richard Noh at RDNoh@wmata.com<mailto:RDNoh@wmata.com> or 202-962-2569.
Sincerely,
Brian Yanos
[1] The PARP can be found on WMATA's website at https://www.wmata.com/about/records/public-records.cfm, under the section marked "Legal Affairs."
[cid:image001.jpg@01D962E7.2AEFB420]
Brian J. Yanos
Associate Counsel
Legal Department
300 7th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024
P: 202-617-4542
E: BJYanos@wmata.com<mailto:BJYanos@wmata.com>
This transmission is intended only for the proper recipient(s). It is confidential and may contain attorney-client privileged information or information prepared in anticipation of litigation. If you are not the proper recipient, please notify the sender immediately and delete this message. Any unauthorized review, copying, or use of this message is prohibited.
________________________________
[1] The PARP can be found on WMATA's website at https://www.wmata.com/about/records/public-records.cfm, under the section marked "Legal Affairs."
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From: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Good Morning Mr. Saulnier,
This email is in regards to the fee estimate you requested. We currently estimate that processing will take two hours or less and therefore fees would be waived.
Regards,
Brian
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From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following DC Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 3, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #COBTR222155.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following DC Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 3, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #COBTR222155.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following DC Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 3, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #COBTR222155.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following DC Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 3, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #COBTR222155.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following DC Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 3, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #COBTR222155.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following DC Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 3, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #COBTR222155.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following DC Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 3, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #COBTR222155.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following DC Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 3, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #COBTR222155.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following DC Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 3, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #COBTR222155.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following DC Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 3, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #COBTR222155.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following DC Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 3, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #COBTR222155.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following DC Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 3, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #COBTR222155.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Dear Mr. Saulnier:
This is the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) final decision in response to your March 6, 2023, Public Access to Records Policy (PARP) request regarding Solicitation No. 0000008611 for the Bus Priority Violation Detection System. Specifically, you requested the following records:
1. "Evaluation scores/notes related to ALL proposers
2. Submitted responses of ALL proposers (with the exception of Verra Mobility)
3. Debrief documents related to ALL proposers"
Your request was processed pursuant to WMATA's PARP.[1]
Previous Partial Decision
On March 30, 2023, WMATA denied all portions of your request that pertain to companies other than the successful offeror pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.3 (exempt by statute - F.A.R. Section 24.202 - a proposal shall not be made available under the Freedom of Information Act unless it is incorporated into a contract) and PARP Exemption 6.1.4 (confidential commercial information). WMATA also denied Part 1 of your request pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.5 (deliberative process privilege).
Decision
Please find attached the following records responsive to the remainder of your request (133 pages total):
1. COBTR222155 Hayden AI Successful Proposal (133 pages).
Pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.4 (confidential commercial information), we have redacted business proprietary information that our contractor customarily and actually treats as confidential.
Pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.5 (deliberative process privilege & self-evaluative privilege), we have redacted observations, evaluations, and determinations that were issued to help WMATA make a final decision.
Pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.6 (personal privacy), we have redacted personal information of individuals whose privacy interests outweigh the public interest in disclosure.
After a search reasonably calculated to find all relevant records, WMATA has found no additional records responsive to your request.
Processing Fees
WMATA spent more than 2 hours of staff time processing the records responsive to your request, which would normally result in processing fees which you would be responsible for. However, the processing time was divided among the number of requesters seeking similar records, and as a result, the assessed processing time for this request is less than two hours. Accordingly, pursuant to PARP § 8.5, the processing fees are waived.
Appeal Rights
If you wish to appeal WMATA's decision, in accordance with PARP § 9.1, you may file a written appeal of the action with the Executive Vice President, External Relations (or designee) at PARP_Appeal@wmata.com<mailto:PARP_Appeal@wmata.com>, within 30 business days of the date of this decision letter. Further details about our appeals process can be found on our website.
Future correspondence should reference the request number noted in the subject line of this correspondence. If you have any questions, please contact me, if I am unavailable, you may contact Richard Noh at RDNoh@wmata.com<mailto:RDNoh@wmata.com> or 202-962-2569.
Sincerely,
Brian Yanos
[1] The PARP can be found on WMATA's website at https://www.wmata.com/about/records/public-records.cfm, under the section marked "Legal Affairs."
[cid:image001.jpg@01DA003F.2D5DC2B0]
Brian J. Yanos
Associate Counsel
Legal Department
300 7th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024
P: 202-627-4542
E: BJYanos@wmata.com<mailto:BJYanos@wmata.com>
This transmission is intended only for the proper recipient(s). It is confidential and may contain attorney-client privileged information or information prepared in anticipation of litigation. If you are not the proper recipient, please notify the sender immediately and delete this message. Any unauthorized review, copying, or use of this message is prohibited.
________________________________
[1] The PARP can be found on WMATA's website at https://www.wmata.com/about/records/public-records.cfm, under the section marked "Legal Affairs."
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