Supplemental Questions and Answers 36C25726R0008 WC VCB Solicitation 02.05.26.pdf

Supplemental Questions (SQs) for Solicitation 36C25726R0008 posted in SAM 02.05.2026

SQ1. The Q&A states that this is a contract for routine/scheduled transportation services; however, PWS sections 4.5.1.7.2–4.5.1.7.3 expressly require acceptance of add-on transportation requests not scheduled in advance, with 30-minute response times. Please confirm whether add-on (not scheduled in advance) wheelchair transports are an expected, enforceable, and material part of this contract’s scope.

SA1. All add-ons (not scheduled in advance) transportation requests in PWS 4.5.1.7.2. The contractor will be allotted up to a thirty (30) minute response time from the time of order placement of the transportation requests. The 30-minute response time applies to accepting or denying the add-on travel request.

SQ2. Given the 30-minute response time requirements for add-on transportation requests, please clarify whether contractors are permitted under this solicitation to rely on unpaid or non-compensated standby drivers who are required to remain available to accept VA transportation orders. If such a staffing model is considered permissible, please identify the contractual or regulatory basis relied upon by the VA to conclude that standby time is not compensable under the applicable Service Contract Labor Standards.

SA2. The SCA Wage Determinations are applicable to this contract. The contractor shall comply with the SCA and remain up-to-date of all its provisions and guidelines (www.dol.gov). This contract applies to scheduled transport; add-ons requested by the contractor will be accepted or denied at the contractor's discretion (within 30 minutes).

SQ3. The PWS requires all transportation requests to be placed through VetRide or VA-approved transportation software. Please confirm whether all wheelchair transportation orders within the Valley Coastal Bend system are currently being placed through VetRide in practice, and if not, whether the VA has the operational capability and internal controls in place to provide complete, timely, and auditable reconciliations for orders initiated outside of VetRide so that contractors can meet authorization, documentation, invoicing, and performance requirements.

SA3. All wheelchair transports within VCB have been routed through VetRide since Oct. 2024. No other system is being utilized. If the VetRide system is down, the procedures in 4.5.1.1.1 & 4.5.1.1.2 will be followed to properly reconcile the travel requests for completed transports during the down period.

SQ4. The PWS provides for re-procurement of services and recovery of excess costs for nonperformance.

Please clarify how wheelchair transportation orders placed outside of VetRide and fulfilled by other vendors during contract performance are treated under this contract, including whether such orders are considered authorized under the IDIQ and how the VA ensures that off-system ordering does not defeat the contract’s exclusive ordering structure or the estimated volumes upon which offerors must reasonably rely.

http://www.dol.gov/

SA4. All wheelchair transports within VCB have been routed through VetRide since Oct. 2024. No other system is being utilized. The estimated quantities for each LIN have been prepared based on historical data from completed trips under the current Agreements with local vendors in the area.

SQ5. The solicitation provides estimated annual trip volumes that offerors must reasonably rely upon to size vehicles, staffing, and operational assets at contract start under a single-award IDIQ structure.

Please clarify how the VA will ensure that ordering practices during contract performance do not materially undermine those estimates through off-system ordering or use of other vendors, particularly during the initial phase-in and early ramp-up period when fleet and staffing allocations are fixed and cannot be redeployed without material cost, while still enforcing response time and availability requirements tied to the estimated workload.

SA5. The estimated quantities for each LIN have been prepared based on historical data from completed trips under the current Agreements with local vendors in the area. See the updated quantities for each LIN under the “RFQ 36C25726R0008 WC Transport Solicitation – Conformed Copy2.”

SQ6. Although PWS section 4.5.1.2 limits who is authorized to place, modify, or cancel transportation orders, please clarify how the VA enforces these authorization requirements in practice across clinical staff, Administrative Officers of the Day, and Beneficiary Travel personnel, and whether contractors will be held responsible for performance failures resulting from orders issued without proper authorization or Contracting Officer oversight.

SA6. Only authorized personnel have access to VetRide to submit transport requests for Veterans.

Changes to the contract terms need to be in the form of a contract modification signed by the Contracting Officer. Only a Contracting Officer can make any change to the terms involving cost, schedule, or performance. The contractor needs to perform in accordance with the terms of the contract.

SQ7. The PWS permits short-notice add-on transportation requests at the VA’s discretion. Please clarify whether the VA has defined criteria, audit controls, or oversight mechanisms governing when transportation requests are designated as add-ons or not scheduled in advance, to prevent routine workload from being reclassified in a manner that shifts unpriced readiness and response-time risk to the contractor.

SA7. Add-Ons (not scheduled in advance) transportation requests in PWS 4.5.1.7.2. The contractor will be allotted up to a thirty (30) minute response time from the time of order placement of the transportation requests. The 30-minute response time applies to the acceptance or denial of the add-on travel request.

SQ8. The PWS allows the VA to re-procure services and recover excess costs for contractor nonperformance. Please clarify whether failures caused by late add-ons, conflicting VA instructions, orders placed outside established scheduling cutoffs, or internal VA coordination failures will be treated as contractor fault or as VA-caused delay beyond the contractor’s reasonable control.

SA8. The contractor will only be held responsible for the standards described in the contract’s PWS.

SQ9. Please clarify whether return trips associated with an authorized outbound wheelchair transport are required to be ordered, documented, and fulfilled through VetRide under this contract, and how the VA prevents return-leg volume from being routed outside the awarded contract.

SA9. All wheelchair transports within VCB have been routed through VetRide since Oct. 2024. No other system is being utilized. The return trip is a separate request placed in VetRide at the time of the travel request.

SQ10. Please clarify how wait time billing applies to return transportation legs associated with an authorized outbound wheelchair transport, particularly when the return leg originates from a distant county location within the catchment area. Specifically, please confirm whether the contractor is expected to remain with the Veteran and bill applicable wait time, or whether the return leg is treated as a separate transport requiring redeployment of another unit.

SA10. This contract is intended for the scheduled transportation of Veterans to their appointments. The trip to their appointment is recorded as 1, and a separate transportation request is also entered in the system for the Veteran to be transported back. The contractor is not expected to wait with the Veteran for their appointments. Each trip’s base mileage is 25 miles, and any excess miles will be invoiced accordingly.

SQ11. Please clarify whether transportation requests may be reclassified by the VA after dispatch or completion (e.g., scheduled to add-on, no-show, or cancellation), and how the VA ensures such reclassification does not retroactively undermine contractor performance metrics, compensation, or volume assumptions.

SA11. There is no system capability to reclassify transportation requests. This contract is intended for the scheduled transportation of Veterans to their appointments. The trip to their appointment is recorded as 1, and a separate transportation request is also entered in the system for the Veteran to be transported back. The VetRide system maintains a record of each entry request, including date stamps for each action, such as request, acceptance, completion, and comments.

SQ12. The solicitation provides estimated annual trip quantities for pricing purposes. Please clarify whether these quantities are purely planning estimates or whether they are derived from reconciled historical data across VetRide and non-VetRide ordering channels, and how the VA intends to ensure accurate, timely reconciliation and payment for future off-system orders when reconciled historical data is not available to support the solicitation estimates.

SA12. The estimated quantities for each LIN have been prepared based on historical data from completed trips under the current Agreements with local vendors in the area. See the updated quantities for each LIN under the “RFQ 36C25726R0008 WC Transport Solicitation – Conformed Copy2.”

This will be an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) where the minimum and maximum are described as part of the Solicitation. The only guarantee is that the minimum amount will be met.

SQ13. Question 17 of the Q&A states that current wheelchair transport volume averages approximately 50–70 transports per weekday, while other responses indicate that weekend, after-hours, and holiday volumes are “very few.” Please clarify how this reported utilization aligns with the solicitation’s estimated annual quantities under CLINs 0001 and 0002, and what annual transport volume offerors should reasonably assume for purposes of staffing, vehicle allocation, and readiness planning during the 30-day phase-in period.

SA13. The estimated quantities for each LIN have been prepared based on historical data from completed trips under the current Agreements with local vendors in the area. See the updated quantities for each LIN under the “RFQ 36C25726R0008 WC Transport Solicitation – Conformed Copy2.”

(End of Supplemental Questions with Responses)