RFI ECON-24-0027 Vehicle Inventory Data File.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION RFI# ECON-24-0027 Vehicle Inventory Data File

Economic Reimbursable Surveys Division

1.0 Description

1.1 The U.S. Census Bureau (Census Bureau) in support of the Economic Reimbursable Surveys Division (ERD) is seeking information on how an interested contractor could provide USCB with a universe of all vehicles registered with the Motor Vehicle Administration of each of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. Each vehicle should link to the owner’s contact information.

USCB wants the following variables on the file:

• VIN number = Vehicle Identification Number

• Vehicle Type = such as Coupes. Sedans, Pickups, Minivans, Other vans and sport utility vehicles, Light single-unit trucks (gross vehicle weight of less than 26,000 lbs.), Heavy single-unit trucks (gross vehicle weight of more than 26,000 lbs.), and Semi-trucks.

• Gross Vehicle Weight Rating = The GVWR refers to the maximum weight a vehicle is designed to carry including the net weight of the vehicle with accessories, plus the weight of passengers, fuel, and cargo.

• Vehicle Make

• Series or Trim Level = The configuration of features of a vehicle make and model specific to the manufacturer.

• Model

• Model Year

• All Registered Owner Contact information for each Vehicle o Owner name o Registration Address o Mailing Address o Email address o Phone numbers

1.2 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. The USCB is requesting information, pursuant to FAR Part 10- Market Research, to identify potential sources for the Economic Reimbursable Surveys Division’s Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS). The proposed North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) Code is 518210 - Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services. The Government is interested in identifying all small businesses including Small Disadvantaged Businesses 8(a)s, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, HUBZone Businesses, and Women-Owned Small Businesses capable of performing these services. The government requests that interested parties respond to this notice in accordance with the instructions outlined in this Request for Information. Respondents are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized through a Government Point of Entry. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor these sites for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/vius/technical-documentation/methodology.html

2.0 Background

The Census Bureau conducts research and production work using administrative records data to enhance numerous Census Bureau programs and products, as well as to facilitate surveys the Census Bureau conducts on behalf of other agencies on a reimbursable basis such as the Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS). The VIUS was first conducted in 1963 and then every five years from 1967 until 2002. Prior to 1997, VIUS was known as the Truck Inventory and Use Survey (TIUS). The VIUS was renamed to account for areas of future expansion, including the addition of automobiles and buses. In 2021, The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) restored VIUS in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, and the Census Bureau to address the significant gap in our knowledge of our Nation’s truck fleet created in its absence. Data include selected vehicles in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia such as:

• Pickups

• Minivans

• Other light vans, and sport utility vehicles

• Light single-unit trucks (gross vehicle weight of less than 26,000 lbs.)

• Heavy single-unit trucks (gross vehicle weight of more than 26,000 lbs.)

• Semi-trucks

The Census Bureau is currently looking for an administrative record dataset of every vehicle operating in the 50 United States and the District of Columbia that is linked to the owner contact information for each vehicle. This dataset will serve as the sample universe for the next Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey and the contact information helps the Census Bureau more efficiently contact respondents, reduces survey cost, and reduces respondent burden.

The Census Bureau wants a single production file for the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. The contractor should stich the individual Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) or other sources files together, so the Census Bureau receives a single well-formed and formatted file from the contractor.

2.1 Delivery Period:

• The Census Bureau only needs a single production file for the 50 United States and the District of Columbia in August of 2026. The BASE year period of performance will be from July 2026 – Feb of 2027.

2.2 Limitations:

• The Census Bureau wants a file delivered to the Census Bureau, so the Census Bureau can create a database or vehicle frame.

o The production data should be provided in a delimited text file or a non-delimited fixed length text file (ASCII) format and transferred to ERD’s Data Quality Branch transferred via Managed File Transfer (MFT).

o The Census Bureau is not looking for an Application Programming Interface (API) to interact with or to look-up records.

3.0 Requested Information

Interested contractors should provide the following information:

3.1 Company Overview

a. A brief description of your company.

b. Socio-economic status, business size, and size standard/applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes.

c. Web site address.

d. List any Government contract vehicle and contract number i.e, GSA, GWAC etc. if applicable.

3.2 Company Capabilities

a. The Census Bureau requires the contractor to provide information for all vehicles registered with the Motor Vehicle Administration in the United States to include all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Please describe your capabilities providing nationwide data sets.

b. The Census Bureau requires the contractor to provide a universe of all vehicles registered with the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) of each of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. Each Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) should link to the vehicle owner’s contact information. Please describe your capabilities to provide a universe of vehicles registered with the MVA and the associated owner contact information.

c. What insights can your company provide regarding factors that impact the market for administrative record datasets related to vehicle registrations across the 50 United States and the District of Columbia? With the factors that your company identified, are there any known risk that impact cost drivers when compiling and maintaining datasets?

4.0 Responses

4.1 Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI and provide all information as requested in Section 3.

4.2 Responses shall be in Microsoft Word for Office compatible format are due no later than December 19, 2024, 5:00 p.m. EST. Responses shall be limited to 10 pages for Section 3.2 and submitted via e-mail only to Lisa Safewright, Contract Specialist at lisa.r.safewright@census.gov and Tanisha Contee, Contracting Officer at tanisha.l.contee@census.gov. Subject line shall read “RFI Submission ECON-24-0027 Vehicle Inventory Data File”. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please mailto:lisa.r.safewright@census.gov segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

5.0 Industry Discussions

Potential offerors may request to meet with the Census Bureau representatives to get further clarification regarding its potential capability to meet the requirements, especially any development and certification risks.

6.0 Questions

Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer, email addresses listed in Section 4.2. Subject line shall read “RFI Questions- ECON-24-0027 Vehicle Inventory Data File”. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions will be answered by posting answers to the Synopsis on the Government Point of Entry; accordingly, questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information.

The Government does not guarantee that questions received after December 3, 2024, 5:00 p.m.

EST will be answered.

7.0 Summary

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to identify sources that can provide Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey MVA Contact Information. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. The Census Bureau has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.