Festival Utility Cart and Shuttle Rentals

Location:	Colorado
Posted:	Mar 13, 2026
Due:	Mar 31, 2026
Agency:	City of Thornton
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	23 - Ground Effect Vehicles, Motor Vehicles, Trailers, and Cycles W - Lease or Rental of Equipment
Solicitation No:	178-26
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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RFQ No. 178-26

REQUEST FOR QUOTATION (RFQ)

RFQ No. 178-26

Festival Utility Cart and Shuttle Rentals

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

RFQ Issued

03/13/2026

Deadline to Submit Questions 03/23/2026

Response to Written Questions 03/25/2026

Quote Due Date

03/31/2026

Award Date (tentative)

04/22/2026

4:00 P.M. Mountain Time (MT)

GENERAL INFORMATION:

The City of Thornton (“Thornton”) is soliciting quotations from qualified vendors for the rental of

utility carts and passenger shuttles for Thornton public festivals. Thornton staff operate these

vehicles to transport staff, materials, and guests before, during, and after festivals.

Thornton intends to make two (2) awards to ensure the availability of a sufficient number of

utility carts and passenger shuttles to meet Thornton’s needs, including an award to a single

Primary Vendor and an award to a single Backup Vendor (hereafter, collectively referred to as

“awarded Vendors” or “awarded Vendor[s]”).

BUYER CONTACT INFORMATION:

The Purchasing Analyst’s contact information from Thornton’s Purchasing Division for this

solicitation is as follows:

PA’s Name:

PA’s Title:

PA’s Email:

Joshua Houston

Senior Purchasing Analyst

Joshua.Houston@thorntonco.gov

Note: Communications with anyone other than the Purchasing Division during the solicitation

may result in rejection of your quotation. All questions, comments, and submissions regarding

this RFQ shall be addressed to the Purchasing Analyst, not to the end user.

SCOPE OF WORK:

Thornton hosts several public festivals each year. At several of these events, Thornton staff

use rented utility carts to transport staff and materials and rented passenger shuttles to

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RFQ No. 178-26

Festival Utility Cart and Shuttle Rentals

transport festival guests. Hereafter, “rental units” shall refer to both rented utility carts and

rented passenger shuttles.

In addition to utility carts and passenger shuttles, Thornton has also rented related equipment

and specialized vehicle configurations, including towable utility trailers, wheelchair-accessible

passenger shuttles, and flatbed utility carts (hereafter, “optional equipment and specialized

vehicle configurations”). Thornton is interested in these options as well.

Rental units for the following four (4) events are the primary requirement for this solicitation

(hereafter, “Primary Festivals”):

(a) Thorntonfest, which is a one (1)-day event held in late spring or early summer every

year. In 2026, this event will be held on June 6, 2026. This is the first event the

awarded Vendor(s) will support.

(b) Independence Day Celebration, which is a one (1)-day event held on July 4th every

year.

this event will be held on October 3, 2026.

(d) Winterfest, which is a three (3)-day event held in December every year. In 2026, this

event will be held on December 11, 2026, through December 13, 2026.

In addition to the Primary Festivals, Thornton may have additional needs for rental units.

These additional needs are within the scope of this solicitation and any resulting awards and

may include:

(a) Additional public festivals and events. These could include, by way of example, the

Eggcessible Eggstravaganza egg hunt held in early April, or the Barrel & Beer Festival

held in late summer.

(b) As a temporary substitute for golf carts at the Thornton-owned Thorncreek Golf Course

(“Thorncreek”). While Thorncreek has its own leased fleet of golf carts, a temporary

need may arise should some of Thorncreek’s golf carts become unusable for a period

(e.g., due to unforeseen maintenance issues).

UTILITY CART AND PASSENGER SHUTTLE SPECIFICATIONS:

Vendors receiving an award (primary or backup) from this solicitation shall supply rental utility

carts and passenger shuttles that meet the following minimum specifications:

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Festival Utility Cart and Shuttle Rentals

(a) Utility carts.

(1) Gasoline or diesel engine model is required. Thornton also requests pricing, if

offered by the Vendor, for an electric engine model.

(2) Minimum of eleven (11) horsepower for the gasoline or diesel engine model. The

electric engine model, if proposed, may have less than eleven (11) horsepower.

(3) Be a golf-cart-style maintenance vehicle designed for turf use (similar to Yamaha

Adventurer).

(4) Storage bed mounted on the back of the vehicle with a minimum size of 27” x 39”

and an 8” depth.

(5) Include operational headlights and taillights suitable for use during evening events,

including during night or limited visibility.

(6) While not required, Thornton desires all furnished utility carts to be of the same

make, model, and color to present a uniform appearance.

(b) Passenger shuttles.

(1) Gasoline engine model is required. Thornton also requests pricing, if offered by

the Vendor, for an electric engine model.

(2) Sun canopy top that covers the passengers.

(3) Passenger shuttle shall seat a minimum of six (6) adults, including the operator,

and shall have three (3) rows of forward-facing seating.

(4) Include operational headlights and taillights suitable for use during evening events,

including during night or limited visibility.

(5) While not required, Thornton desires all furnished passenger shuttles to be of the

same make, model, and color to present a uniform appearance.

OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT AND SPECIALIZED VEHICLE CONFIGURATIONS

Vendors receiving an award (primary or backup) from this solicitation may supply the following:

(a) Towable utility trailers, compatible with the proposed utility cart hitch system.

(b) Wheelchair-accessible passenger shuttles.

RENTAL PERIODS AND REQUIRED QUANTITIES:

Typically, Thornton rents a quantity of utility carts for an entire week (seven [7] consecutive

Calendar Days) surrounding an event, to support set up and tear down activities (except for

Harvestfest). Additional utility carts are typically added for the day of the event or, in the case of

the Independence Day Celebration and Harvestfest, for a few days ahead of the event.

Passenger shuttles, meanwhile, are only rented for the period of the event itself, as their purpose

is exclusively the transport of guests during the event. For most festivals, this is a single day,

although for Winterfest this is a three (3)-day period.

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The following are the projected rental periods for the Primary Festivals in 2026:

(a) Thorntonfest.

(1) One (1)-week utility cart rental period will be June 1, 2026, through June 7, 2026.

(2) One (1)-day utility cart and passenger shuttle rental period will be on June 6, 2026.

(b) Independence Day Celebration.

(1) One (1)-week utility cart rental period will be June 29, 2026, through July 5, 2026.

(2) Partial week utility cart rental period will be July 1, 2026, through July 4, 2026.

(3) One (1)-day utility cart and passenger shuttle rental period will be on July 4, 2026.

(1) Partial week utility cart rental period will be September 30, 2026, through October

3, 2026.

(2) One (1)-day utility cart and passenger shuttle rental period will be on October 3,

2026.

(d) Winterfest.

(1) One (1)-week utility cart rental period will be December 7, 2026, through December

13, 2026.

(2) Three (3)-day passenger shuttle rental period will be December 11, 2026, through

December 13, 2026.

The Primary Vendor shall have the capacity to provide the maximum quantities of rental units

shown below for each Primary Festival:

Table A. Maximum/best estimate quantities of rental units for Primary Festivals.

Utility carts

Passenger shuttles

# Rented for # Rented for # Rented for # Rented for # Rented for

Festival

One (1)

Partial

One (1)

Three (3)

Week*

Week**

Day***

Days

Thorntonfest

Independence

Day Celebration

Harvestfest

Winterfest

*Seven (7) consecutive Calendar Days.

**Partial week is three (3) or four (4) days and will be charged at the lesser of the (i) weekly rate

or (ii) daily rate multiplied by the number of days.

**The single day is the day of the event.

The quantities listed above are the maximum quantities of rental units for which the Primary

Vendor shall have the capacity to furnish to Thornton. Thornton may order less than the

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quantities shown in the table above for the Primary Festivals, although these figures represent

Thornton’s best estimate of its actual needs at the time of award.

There is no minimum guarantee of rental units that Thornton will order for each Primary Festival.

Should Thornton require a quantity of rental units above the quantities shown above, Thornton

will request the additional quantities from the Primary Vendor. The Primary Vendor is not

obligated to provide additional quantities but shall make a reasonable effort to meet Thornton’s

full requirement.

If the Primary Vendor is unable to meet Thornton’s full requirement, Thornton may solicit the

Backup Vendor to meet Thornton’s full requirement.

Thornton may revise the list of Primary Festivals, or the maximum quantities of rental units

required for each of the Primary Festivals, upon mutual agreement with the Primary Vendor.

Thornton does not have established requirements or quantities for optional equipment and

specialized vehicle configurations, including towable utility trailers, wheelchair-accessible

passenger shuttles, and flatbed utility carts. When needed, these are anticipated to be ordered

in small quantities.

ORDER PROCESS:

By January 31st of each year, Thornton will notify Vendors of the dates of the Primary Festivals

and projected rental periods.

No later than three (3) weeks prior to the start of a rental period, Thornton shall confirm the dates

of the rental periods and quantities of rental units, and any optional equipment and specialized

vehicle configurations (if supplied by Vendors), needed for the respective rental periods. The

Primary Vendor is expected to have sufficient fleet capacity to meet the estimated maximum

quantities listed in Table A. However, the Vendor is not required to reserve specific units for

Thornton until Thornton confirms quantities for each rental period and the rental period dates.

Thornton will make reasonable efforts to notify the Primary Vendor of anticipated rental

quantities and rental periods as early as practicable, and to confirm those details as soon as

Thornton is able.

If the Primary Vendor is unable to meet all of Thornton’s needs, the Primary Vendor shall notify

Thornton of such within two (2) business days of Thornton’s request. Thornton may then, as its

discretion, solicit the Backup Vendor to meet Thornton’s needs.

Thornton must issue a purchase order to an awarded Vendor before the Vendor commences work.

Thornton may, at its discretion, issue one or more blanket purchase order(s) to awarded Vendors

against which named Thornton staff may place individual rental orders.

F.O.B. POINT AND DELIVERY CONSIDERATIONS:

Delivery of rental units (and any optional equipment and specialized vehicle configurations) shall

be coordinated by the Vendor with the Thornton agency contact.

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This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.