RFP #26-06 ? Advertising Consulting Services

Location:	California
Posted:	Apr 20, 2026
Due:	Jun 1, 2026
Agency:	Monterey-Salinas Transit
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	R - Professional, Administrative and Management Support Services
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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Request for Proposals

#26-06

Advertising Consulting Services

For The

Monterey-Salinas Transit District

RFP #26-06 SCHEDULE

Issue Date:

Monday, April 20, 2026

Question Submission Deadline:

Monday, May 4, 2026 by 12:00 PM

Deadline to Submit Proposals:

Monday, June 1, 2026 by 2:00 PM

Monterey-Salinas Transit

19 Upper Ragsdale Drive, Suite 200

Monterey, CA 93940

Request for Proposals For

Advertising Consulting Services

for the

Monterey-Salinas Transit District

Monterey-Salinas Transit District (MST) invites qualified firms/individuals to submit a

proposal detailing qualifications and costs for providing advertising consulting services. The

firm/individual selected will perform advertising consulting services on behalf of MST as

detailed in the Scope of Work herein.

The consultant selected will enter into a contract with MST effective on November 1,

2026, and shall remain in effect for a period of three (3) years. MST shall have the option

to extend the contract for two (2) additional one (1) year option terms.

Proposals must be received by MST NO LATER THAN 2:00 PM, Pacific Time on

Monday, June 1, 2026. Any submissions received past this deadline will be considered

non-responsive and will not be accepted. Proposals must be submitted through Monterey-

Salinas Transit’s Bonfire eProcurement portal. If you are not already registered, please

do so at www.mst.org/procurement and select “Become a Vendor.”

If you have any questions regarding this solicitation, please submit them via MST’s Bonfire Portal

no later than 12:00 PM on Monday, May 4, 2026. An addendum to this RFP will be issued

answering any questions received by the deadline.

It is the responsibility of the proposing firms to check MST's eProcurement Portal for any

addenda that may be issued relative to this solicitation. Proposers that accessed any of the

solicitation documents for this solicitation will be notified of the issuance of any addenda.

In order to allow for an adequate evaluation, MST requires an offer in response to this

solicitation to be valid and irrevocable for one hundred and twenty (120) days after the proposal

due date and time. All proposers will be notified of contract award, if award is made.

If you have any questions related to the procurement process, please contact:

Monterey-Salinas Transit

19 Upper Ragsdale Drive, Suite 200

Monterey, CA 93940

Attention: Steven Bruno, Purchasing Agent

Phone:

831-264-5884

Email:

sbruno@mst.org

History and Overview of MST

The Monterey-Salinas Transit District (MST) was created by state law AB644 and

formed on July 1, 2010. The District succeeds the Monterey-Salinas Transit Joint Powers

Agency formed in 1981 when the City of Salinas joined the Monterey Peninsula Transit

Joint Powers Agency which was formed in 1972.

Current members of the district are the Cities of Carmel, Del Rey Oaks, Gonzales,

Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Salinas, Sand City, Seaside,

Soledad, and the County of Monterey. A board of directors with a representative from

each member jurisdiction governs the agency and appoints the general manager.

MST serves a 159-square-mile area of Monterey County, Northern San Luis Obispo,

Southern Santa Cruz, and Southern Santa Clara Counties. MST’s 37 routes serve an

estimated 437,325 within ¾ mile of a bus stop in Monterey County.

For more information about MST, log onto http://www.mst.org/.

SCOPE OF SERVICES

Objective: To increase advertising revenue of Advertising on the Go/Shelters and develop other

advertising streams of revenue. Maintain existing and actively search for and generate new

business accounts. Identify public and private partnership opportunities to advertise MST

services and activities.

Tasks:

1. Advertising on the Go/Shelters: Aggressively seek new business accounts. Promote

existing accounts. Seek out non-traditional revenue streams. Facilitate the installation

and documentation of ads as they are placed on buses and in shelters.

2. Other advertising revenue streams: Develop new and creative forms of MST advertising

opportunities, including but not limited to the following:

o Tickets/Passes/Transfers

o Transit Stations/Centers/Exchanges

o Bus Stop Beautification Program

o Visitor-oriented services (i.e., Carmel Valley Grapevine Express, MST Trolley,

etc.)

o Bus Wraps

3. Promote MST to existing and new clients with “added value” elements and incentives.

4. Propose innovative technologies MST can consider adopting to increase advertising reach

and revenue, such as advertising on electric signs aboard buses and electric kiosks at

transit centers and high ridership stops as the technology becomes available.

5. Submit a report by the 15th of every month documenting the previous month’s activities,

contracts signed, revenues received, and other relevant data as requested by MST.

6. Advise MST on revisions to Advertising on the Go/Shelters with regards to rates,

policies, procedures, and packaging, and recommend changes as needed to the program.

This includes researching and comparing MST’s current rates to market rates to

determine potential changes.

ATTACHMENTS

The following attachments are hereby made part of this Request for Proposals (RFP) #26-06:

Appendix A – Sample Contract

Appendix B – Required Forms

SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS

Each proposal must include all completed forms from Appendix B as well as the following

information. This information should be confined to no more than 20 Pages, excluding resumes

of staff members and required forms. Please submit One (1) electronic version of your proposal.

1. Firm name, business address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address.

2. Date of establishment of business.

3. Type of organization (individual, partnership, or corporation).

4. Description of firm’s experience with local government agencies,

especially transit agencies, if any.

5. Description of firm’s experience with other clients.

6. List of current clients and contact information.

7. Names of individuals who would be directly engaged in the performance of work under

this solicitation. For each of the individuals please submit:

a. Number of years related experience.

b. List of references and contact information.

c. Brief description of work performed for these references or relationship to these

references.

8. Describe any areas of specialty that your firm has (such as type of client and/or subject

matter and/or other).

9. Include your general approach on how to best serve MST and how you propose to meet

MST’s needs. Please be sure to describe your familiarity with MST’s service area/market

for these services.

10. Please outline your cost for the described services using the Cost Proposal Form in

Appendix B. Do not include your cost proposal in the same document as your technical

proposal. This must be uploaded separately to the Cost Proposal section of the

procurement submittals in Bonfire.

EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCEDURE

The Evaluation Committee will review all proposals. Those firms determined to meet MST

objectives may be invited to an oral interview, if deemed appropriate. Staff will recommend a

firm for contract award and a contract will be awarded pending approval of the Monterey-

Salinas Transit District Board of Directors.

The selection will be made of the firm or person whose proposal is most responsive to the

Request for Proposals (RFP) and offers the best advantage to MST.

As part of the selection process, consultants may be requested to provide information concerning

client representation for evaluation by MST. If, at the discretion of MST, a conflict of interest,

real or apparent, exists or may exist, then MST reserves the right not to select a consultant to

perform the services herein, regardless of the qualifications of that consultant or the ranking of

the consultant as provided below.

The following criteria will be used to evaluate proposals:

1. Qualifications of the Firm: Technical experience in performing work of a closely

similar nature; experience working with transportation organizations or other public

agencies; record of completing work on schedule; strength and stability of the firm;

technical experience and strength and stability of proposed sub-consultants, if any; and

assessments by client references. (20 points)

2. Staffing and Project Organization: Qualifications of project staff, particularly key

personnel, especially the project manager; key personnel’s level of involvement in

performing related work; logic of project organization; adequacy of labor commitment;

concurrence in the restrictions on changes in key personnel. (20 points)

3. Demonstrated understanding of the project requirements and potential problem

areas; project approach, work plan, and quality assurance program. (25 points)

4. Demonstrated familiarity with MST’s service area and market for the services described

herein. (10 points)

5. Cost and Price: Reasonableness of the total price and competitiveness of this

amount with other offers received. Consultants are asked to submit a cost proposal

separate from their technical proposal that accurately reflects their costs in performing

the services discussed in the scope of work. (25 points)

RIGHTS OF MST

This RFP does not commit MST to enter into a Contract, nor does it obligate MST to pay for

any costs incurred in preparation and submission of proposals or in anticipation of a contract.

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

RFP #26-06 ? Advertising Consulting Services

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