Fixed Route Bus Procurement

NEORide is issuing this Competitive Solicitation pursuant to Section 3019 of the FAST Act (Pub. L. No. 114-94) and ORC chapter 167. Pursuant to this Competitive Solicitation, NEORide intends to conduct a competitive procurement and establish and award a Master Contract, for eligible purchasers to purchase Heavy Duty Transit Buses (“Transit Buses”). This Master Contracts is considered a Cooperative Purchase. This Competitive Solicitation is for newly built transit buses used for fixed route and commuter service. Heavy Duty Transit Buses purchased under this Competitive Solicitation will be 30 foot, 35 foot, 40 foot, 45 foot, and 60 foot articulated available with diesel power, hybrid drive, compressed natural gas (“CNG”), Hydrogen Fuel Cell, and electric propulsion systems. This Competitive Solicitation and all relevant categories for Transit Buses include the services, accessories, equipment, parts, pieces, consulting, training, etc. required for operation of the buses for their operational life. This Competitive Solicitation is with NEORide. The resulting Master Contract will be available for use by all eligible purchasers at their option, including any approved and named members of NEORide. These Participants can include any of the 37 members of NEORide across ten states. Many of these Participants will be purchasing with FTA funds for Transit Buses. The scope of work/specifications is outlined in the Request for Proposal (RFP). The successful Proposer shall meet the terms and conditions set forth in this document and all other attachments. All interested contractors must register as detailed in the solicitation. All questions should be submitted electronically via the Portal’s Question and Answer (Q&A) tab. All proposals must be received electronically on or before 'Proposal Submission Date at 'Proposal Submission Time (EST) via the Portal The right is reserved to accept any proposal/bid or any part or parts thereof or to reject any and all proposals/bids. In addition, NEORide may choose to award some or all of this contract to multiple vendors. Acceptance of any proposal/bid is subject to concurrence by the Ohio Department of Transportation and the United States Department of Transportation. Any contract resulting from these proposals is subject to financial assistance contract between NEORide, its partner agencies and the United States Department of Transportation and relevant state Department of Transportation. NEORide hereby notifies all proposers that, regarding any contract entered into pursuant to this RFP, advertisement or solicitation, disadvantaged business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit proposals in response and will not be subjected to discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex or national origin in consideration for an award. This Competitive Solicitation is divided into five (5) sections: Section 1 provides important information about the procurement that is designed to help interested bidders evaluate the potential opportunity, including the purpose of the procurement and Master Contracts, the form of the resulting Master Contract, and potential contract sales. Section 2 identifies how NEORide will evaluate the bids. Section 3 identifies how to prepare and submit a bid for this Competitive Solicitation, including detailed instructions regarding what to submit and how to submit your bid. Section 4 details the applicable requirements to file a complaint, request a debrief conference, or file a protest regarding this Competitive Solicitation. Section 5 provides information pertaining to doing business with NEORide. In addition, this Competitive Solicitation includes the following Exhibits: Exhibit A – Required Bidder Information : These exhibits identify information that bidders must provide to NEORide to constitute a responsive bid. See Section 4, below. Exhibit A-1 – Bidder’s Certification Exhibit A-2 – FTA Certifications Exhibit B-1 – Specifications : This exhibit outlines the required specifications/qualifications for the Transit Buses that are the subject of this Competitive Solicitation. Exhibit B -2 – Specification Modification Certification : This exhibit provides the bidder with the opportunity to detail modification to the specifications. Exhibit B-3 –Technical Information : This exhibit has the bidder provide the technical information for their standard bus. Exhibit C – Qualifications : This exhibit provides the questions for evaluation of Technical, Company Information, and Warranty specifications. Exhibit D-1 – Price Sheet Instructions : This exhibit provides instructions and examples for completing Exhibit D-2 Price Sheet. Exhibit D-2 – Price Sheet : This exhibit provides the pricing information that bidders will complete as part of their bid and the price evaluation tool that Enterprise Services will use to evaluate and compare bids. Exhibit E-1 – Master Contract : This exhibit is a draft of the Master Contract that the successful bidder(s) will execute with NEORide. Exhibit E-2 – Master Contract Issues List : This exhibit outlines bidder’s issues, if any, and bidder’s proposed resolution/solution if bidder has any business concerns with the form of the Master Contract (Exhibit E-1) to be awarded. Note, however, that NEORide reserves the right not to modify the Master Contract and to award the Master Contract on the basis of a bidder’s willingness to agree to the Master Contract.