Public Transit Consultant Services 2027

Location:	Vermont
Posted:	Aug 31, 2026
Due:	Sep 28, 2026
Agency:	State of Vermont - Agency of Transportation
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	Q - Medical Services R - Professional, Administrative and Management Support Services
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

Attachment Preview

Agency of Transportation

219 North Main Street, Barre, 05641

vtrans.vermont.gov

Administration Division

Contract Administration

Services Unit

August 31, 2026

Request for Proposals (RFP): Public Transit Consultant Services 2027

The Public Transit section of the Vermont Agency of Transportation, hereinafter referred

to as AOT, is seeking contractor services to assist with the following fields:

• Statewide public transit planning

• Transit route and service development planning

• Transit safety requirements and plans

• Federal transit rulemaking and regulations

• Civil rights compliance

• Performance reporting

• Management reviews

• Maintenance activities compliance

• Vehicle Specification development and vehicle inspections

• Grant application support

• Public involvement activities

• Provider specific training projects

• Financial Analysis and Cost Allocation Plans

• Audits

• Assistance with event/conference planning

• Mobility Management services

• Vehicle procurement inspections

• Construction oversight compliance with federal and state regulations

(maintenance and administration buildings)

• Transit Technologies, including but not limited to AVL, Microtransit,

demand response scheduling and dispatch software, GTFS data,

electrification of the bus fleet, etc.

This RFP will result in multiple awards.

Prequalification is not required in order to submit a proposal for this RFP.

Communication. AOT will not be bound by any oral communications. All questions

related to this RFP shall be sent in writing by email to the Point of Contact, noted

below. All questions and requests for clarification shall be received no later than 2:00

p.m. on Monday, September 14, 2026. All questions received will be documented and

answered after this date. Communication with other AOT personnel regarding this

RFP is prohibited and may result in the rejection of your proposal.

RFP Public Transit Consultant Services 2027

Page 1 of 111

Point of Contact for this RFP: Caryn Pletzer

caryn.pletzer@vermont.gov

AOT Contract Administration Bureau

Services Unit

Proposal Assistance. If a Contractor requires assistance in preparing their proposal,

registering with SAM.gov, or needs guidance on socioeconomic certifications, the

Contractor may contact the Vermont Agency of Commerce & Community Development

(ACCD), Department of Economic Development (DED), APEX Accelerator. The

Vermont APEX Accelerator specializes in helping small businesses navigate the

documentation associated with State and Federal procurement. There is no cost to the

Contractor for assistance provided by APEX Accelerator. Their website is:

https://accd.vermont.gov/economic-development/programs/apex

Proposers’ Conference. There will not be a mandatory or optional pre-bid meeting.

Addendums / Modifications. In the event that it becomes necessary to revise, modify,

clarify, or otherwise alter this RFP, including AOT’s responses to questions and requests

for clarification, such addendum(s)/modification(s) shall be posted to the AOT Contract

Administration website.

IT IS THE PROPOSER’S RESPONSIBILITY TO OBTAIN ANY RFP MODIFICATIONS

ISSUED.

RFP modifications will be posted on the AOT Contract Administration website at:

https://vtrans.vermont.gov/contract-admin/bids-requests/services

Reservation of Rights. All proposals become the property of AOT upon submission.

The cost of preparing, submitting, and presenting a proposal is the sole expense of the

Proposer. Unselected proposals shall be securely disposed of at AOT’s discretion. AOT

reserves the right to reject any and all proposals received as a result of this solicitation,

to negotiate with any qualified source, to waive any formality and any technicalities, or to

cancel this RFP in part or in its entirety if it is in the best interest of AOT. This solicitation

of proposals in no way obligates AOT to award a contract.

Exceptions to Terms and Conditions. The proposer must state in the proposal any

exceptions taken to the terms and conditions in this RFP. For each exception the

proposer shall identify the term or condition, state the reason for the exception, and

provide any other information concerning the exception. Such exceptions, deviations, or

conditional assumptions may, however, result in rejection of the proposal as

unresponsive. Failure to note exceptions when responding to the RFP will be deemed to

be acceptance of the State contract terms and conditions. If exceptions are not noted in

the response to this RFP but raised during contract negotiations, the State reserves the

right to cancel the negotiation if deemed to be in the best interests of the State.

Multiple Award Anticipated. AOT intends to select more than one (1) Contractor to

perform these services under a primary contract. Each contract will contain a variety of

specific services the Contractor will be awarded. AOT will enter into contracts, with an

initial term of two (2) years with the option of extending for an additional two (2) year

RFP Public Transit Consultant Services 2027

Page 2 of 111

period, followed by an additional one (1) year period, for a maximum duration of five (5)

years.

Maximum Amount. The maximum amount(s) for the contract(s) will be set at a level to

permit a Contractor to be awarded all work assignments if they are judged to be the

best value. Best Value Selection will be determined by experience, specialists’

availability, required specialized equipment, capacity, creative ideas, technical solution,

past performance, and cost. Award of a contract does not guarantee payment of any or

all the maximum amount. Payment is based on products or services actually delivered

or performed. The maximum amount for this contract does not guarantee that the

Contractor will receive any work under the Contract.

Work Orders. AOT may use several methods for determining and distributing work

orders to contracted Contractors including but not limited to requesting technical

proposals from more than one Contractor for comparison, requesting a proposal from a

single Contractor, or requesting proposals addressing more than one project. Award of

work orders will be a qualification-based selection when the services are design in

nature and federal funding is involved. Award of work orders will be a best value

selection when the services are not design in nature and federal funding is involved.

Best value selection will be used for all services that are 100% state funded, regardless

of service type.

Work Order Request (WOR) and Work Authorization Notification Process

• Specific tasks will be requested under this contract by the issuance of a Work Order

Request (WOR). Review of the WOR responses will determine who will be

selected. Once the 2nd tier solicitation is complete a Work Authorization Notification

will be issued via email from Contract Administration, Work Authorization Unit.

• VTrans will initiate this process by issuing a Work Order Request (WOR) detailing

the proposed task or projects and request a specific task technical proposal from

multiple CONTRACTORs awarded a Primary Contract. The Work Order Request

will also indicate which payment provision (hourly rate schedule, cost plus fixed fee

or firm fixed price) will be utilized for this task assignment. Detailed information

regarding the project will be included within the WOR. This request will be

completed by the CONTRACTOR and submitted by the identified due date.

• Upon evaluation and selection of the most qualified CONTRACTOR, a cost

proposal will be requested and provided to VTrans. VTrans reserves the right to

examine cost elements and negotiate the price prior to the award of the Work

Order. For Best Value 2nd tier solicitation, the cost proposal will be submitted with

the technical response and will be considered when determining best value

selection.

• When all aspects of the Work Order have been negotiated and accepted by both

parties, VTrans shall issue a Work Authorization Notification to the CONTRACTOR,

which will specify the effective date for commencement of services, agreed upon

cost and other important information.

RFP Public Transit Consultant Services 2027

Page 3 of 111

All Work Order Requests that contain federal funding other than Federal Highway

Association (FHWA) such as Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) or other federal funding may contain special provisions required

for that federal funding and/or the particular project. By returning a work order proposal

for that project, you are indicating that you understand and will abide by any additional

provisions included in the Work Order Request/Authorization.

Primary Contract holders shall not enter into joint ventures with another Primary

Contract holder in response to a second-tier solicitation (Work Order Request); nor shall

it be permissible for a Primary Contract holder to include another Primary Contract

holder as a subcontractor.

Contractors who are awarded work orders will report to the assigned AOT Project

Manager. Work will be performed primarily at project sites and municipalities throughout

Vermont, as described in the work orders, and some meetings may be held at AOT

headquarters in Barre.

For subcontractors not named in the proposal, utilization of subcontractor personnel will

require written approval by AOT prior to the subcontractor performing any work under

the contract. Please see additional information regarding this process under the

subcontractor section within the Proposal Technical Format and Content.

No work may be performed after the expiration date plus exercised extensions of the

applicable Contract. In exceptional circumstances where it might be mutually desired to

have work extend beyond the term of a Contract, written authorization will be needed,

overseen by AOT’s Contract Administration, and authorized by the Secretary of

Transportation, the Agency’s Chief Financial Officer, other State Representatives as

required and Federal oversight agencies as required. A formal amendment will be

required for any such extension.

Confidentiality. Bidders are hereby expressly directed not to include any confidential

information in their proposal submissions, except as specifically identified in this RFP.

By submitting a proposal in response to this RFP, bidders acknowledge and agree to

abide by the terms and conditions outlined in this document, including the prohibition on

submitting confidential information. This prohibition reduces the burden on the State

while preventing bidder-confidential information from entering the public record. All

Proposals received will become part of the contract file and will become a matter of

public record, and may be disclosed to the public in accordance with the Vermont Public

Records Act, 1 V.S.A. § 315 et seq. If the proposal documents include material that is

considered by the proposer to be proprietary and confidential under 1 V.S.A. § 315 et

seq., the proposer shall submit a cover letter that clearly identifies each page or section

of the proposal that it believes is proprietary and confidential. The proposer shall also

provide in their cover letter a written explanation for each marked section explaining

why such material should be considered exempt from public disclosure in the event of a

public records request, pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 317(c), including the prospective harm to

the competitive position of the proposer if the identified material were to be released.

Additionally, the proposer must include a redacted copy of its response for

portions that are considered proprietary and confidential. Redactions must be

RFP Public Transit Consultant Services 2027

Page 4 of 111

limited so that the reviewer may understand the nature of the information being

withheld. It is typically inappropriate to redact entire pages, or to redact the

titles/captions of tables and figures. Under no circumstances can the entire response be

marked confidential, and the State reserves the right to disqualify responses so marked.

Please be aware that all contracts solicited and/or contracted through VTBuys will be

uploaded to the VTBuys Public Portal, wherein it can be viewed by any interested party.

Hourly rates and other cost proposal information included in Attachment B Payment

Provisions of the awarded contract will be viewable.

PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

The quality of proposals and adherence to solicitation response requirements and/or

restrictions are considered reflective of the manner in which the proposer could be

expected to conduct business and will be given due consideration throughout the

evaluation process.

Failure to provide all required information or indications that the proposer did not conform to

all terms as set forth in the RFP and attachments may make the offer non-responsive and

may result in the elimination of the proposer from further consideration for award.

Proposals or unsolicited revisions submitted after the specified due date and time will not

be accepted and will be securely disposed of.

Required Electronic Submittal Information

Proposals will only be received electronically via an FTP site. In order to upload your

proposal, you must obtain a user account. This account will be provided when Contract

Administration receives your request via email. If you already have credentials, you still

need to request access to this specific RFP folder or you will be unable to submit your

proposal. Please submit your request for a user account by emailing the single point of

contact listed in this RFP above as soon as possible and no later than four (4) business

days before the RFP due date to ensure there is ample time to set up the user

account(s). The subject of the email should state “FTP Account Request for Public

Transit Consultant Services 2027”.

You will then receive login credentials and guidance (in separate emails) for uploading

your proposal. If you are unable to submit your documents by uploading to the specified

FTP site(s), please notify the sole point of contact for additional guidance.

When submitting your proposal(s), please use the following naming convention:

ProposalType_CompanyName_RFPTitle

Examples:

• TechnicalProposal_ABCConsulting_PublicTransitConsultantServices2027

• CostProposal_ABCConsulting_ PublicTransitConsultantServices2027

RFP Public Transit Consultant Services 2027

Page 5 of 111

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

RFI, RFP & RFQ	VTBuys Solicitation?	QUESTIONS DUE PRIOR TO 2:00 P.M.	ADDENDUM(S)	PROPOSALS DUE PRIOR TO 2:00 P.M.
Public Transit Consultant Services 2027		9/14/2026		9/28/2026

Public Transit Consultant Services 2027

Attachment Preview

See also