The Maricopa Association of Governments ("MAG") is seeking a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) from qualified consultants capable of providing professional services for the FY 2024-25 Special Generator Surveys and Modeling to form an On-Call list of consultants to provide services to MAG.
For further information, please submit questions in writing by email to adutta@azmag.gov MAG is a Council of Governments ("COG") that serves as the regional agency for the metropolitan Phoenix area. When MAG was formed in 1967, the elected officials recognized the need for long-range planning and policy development on a regional scale. They realized that many issues such as transportation and air quality affected residents beyond the borders of their individual jurisdictions. MAG was founded in the spirit of cooperation. MAG members believe that by uniting, they can solve common problems, take an active role in long-range regional issues and address concerns that affect all of the communities. MAG is the designated metropolitan planning organization ("MPO") for transportation planning in the Maricopa metropolitan region. MAG also has been designated by the Governor to serve as the principal planning agency for the region in a number of other areas, including air quality, water quality management and solid waste management. In addition, through an Executive Order from the Governor, MAG develops population estimates and projections for the region. MAG develops and maintains a number of transportation modeling tools required for regional planning processes. MAG travel forecasting models are the main analytical tools for regional project planning and evaluation, and air quality conformity analyses. The models also provide technical support for planning and engineering needs of MAG member agencies and the regional transportation planning community. MAG utilizes an activity-based model (ABM) as the model of record for regional travel forecasting. The modeling area consists of the entire Maricopa and Pinal counties, as well as small parts of Gila and Yavapai counties (Figure 1). The method of Contractor Selection has not been Determined at this time. The post-pandemic era has triggered some behavioral shifts that may impact activity and travel behavior in the region. Many of these behavioral shifts are likely to endure and are being commonly referred to as the 'new normal'. It becomes necessary to gather data to analyze these behavioral shifts and make corresponding updates to the travel forecasting models. The data can be gathered through the implementation of travel surveys, utilization of publicly available data sources, as well as accessing an array of commercially available data that may be procured through vendors. The MAG travel forecasting models include a number of special generator sub-models. These sub-models forecast travel that is not entirely captured through household travel surveys. Some examples of travel behavior that may not be captured through regional household travel surveys include external travel related to the modeling region, visitor travel in the region, travel behavior for seasonal population in the region (commonly known as snowbirds), Arizona State University (ASU) related travel, airport passenger travel, etc. The core focus of this on-call is geared towards surveys, data acquisitions and modeling updates/refinements necessary for special generators in the MAG forecasting models
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