MEP RFI Final.pdf

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENERGY AND

ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS

OFFICE OF MASSACHUSSETTS ENVIRONMENTAL

POLICE

200 Arlington Street, 1st Floor Chelsea, MA 02150

Request for Information (RFI)

Document Title: Statewide Tow, Recovery, Roadside Assistance, and Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Services

COMMBUYS Bid Number: BD-27-1042-ENV-ENV01-134180

Project Number: FY27MEP001

Date: 10/06/2026

1. General Procurement Information

a. General Information

Purchasing Agency Massachusetts Environmental Police

Address 200 Arlington Street, 1st Floor, Chelsea, MA 02150

Procurement Contact Richard Calderon, Executive Director of Procurement

E-Mail Address Richard.calderon@mass.gov

COMMBUYS Number BD-27-1042-ENV-ENV01-134180 Respondents should use this RFI to provide information only. The Massachusetts Environmental Police may use responses to inform a future solicitation.

2. Introduction The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to elicit the advice and best analysis of knowledgeable persons in the vendor community to assist the Massachusetts Environmental Police (“MEP”) in understanding the current marketplace for statewide towing and recovery services and to inform the development of a possible future Request for Responses (RFR) or Request for Quotes

(RFQ).

3. Agency The Massachusetts Environmental Police is the primary environmental law enforcement agency for the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs. MEP personnel support public safety, marine patrol, wildlife enforcement, and conservation operations across Massachusetts, including remote and difficult-to-access locations.

4. Purpose of RFI The purpose of this RFI is to identify qualified providers capable of delivering voluntary and involuntary towing, recovery, roadside assistance, and vehicle transport services in support of the Massachusetts Environmental Police (MEP). Services will include the towing, recovery, and transport of MEP patrol vehicles, as well as providing rapid roadside assistance and towing services to stranded or disabled motorists when requested by the Massachusetts Environmental Police.

Service Requirements to be Addressed by Respondents

Category Requested Capability

Coverage Statewide towing services, including Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, plus out-of-state towing for disabled vehicles during approved training and/or events.

Response Prompt, reliable law-enforcement priority towing with a target ETA of 30 minutes; 24/7 service including weekends and holidays.

Insurance Properly insured and bonded providers.

mailto:Richard.calderon@mass.gov

Category Requested Capability

Roadside Assistance Battery testing and replacement, jump starts, gas delivery, tire replacement, and lockouts at headquarters, residences, and field locations.

Fleet / Equipment Flatbed, hook & chain, boom, light-duty, medium-duty, heavy-duty, and heavy rotator capability.

Vehicles Service for trucks, OHVs, motorcycles, enclosed trailers, boats, and boat trailers.

Recovery Extrication and winch-outs, including accident recovery and disabled vehicles.

Transport Movement of vehicles between dealerships, residences, regional headquarters, repair locations, and surplus facilities.

5. Estimated Procurement Calendar

6. Information Solicited Background. MEP is seeking information from towing and recovery vendors capable of supporting public safety operations throughout the Commonwealth.

a. Questions In response to this RFI, each respondent should address the following questions:

1. Statewide Coverage and Service Area Describe your ability to provide statewide towing and recovery services throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, as identified in Appendix A – Geographic Coverage/Tow Zones attached. Identify the specific geographic areas your company services directly and any areas serviced through subcontractors or partner organizations. Describe any limitations to your statewide coverage, including seasonal, geographic, equipment, staffing, or weather-related constraints. If subcontractors are utilized, Procurement Activity Date Time

Bid Release Date October 06, 2026

Deadline for Submission of Questions through COMMBUYS “Bid Q&A”

October 16, 2026 5:00pm EST

Official Answers for Bid Q&A published (Estimated) October 23, 2026

Deadline for Quotes/Bid Responses (“Bid Opening Date/Time” in

COMMBUYS)

October 30, 2026 10:00am EST identify the services they provide and explain how response times, service quality, and contractual performance are managed to ensure consistent statewide service delivery. Also indicate your capability to provide out-of-state towing services when MEP vehicles become disabled during approved training, emergency deployments, or official events.

2. Service Availability and Response Times Describe your ability to provide towing, recovery, and roadside assistance services on a 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year basis, including weekends and Commonwealth holidays. Describe your ability to provide priority response for Massachusetts Environmental Police requests and your capability to achieve a target response time of 30 minutes, including any factors that may impact response times.

3. Dispatch and Communications Describe your dispatch operations, including call intake procedures, hours of operation, dispatch center locations, estimated arrival time (ETA) notifications, GPS vehicle tracking capabilities, communication methods, and escalation procedures for emergency or high-priority incidents.

4. Towing and Recovery Equipment Identify all towing and recovery equipment available to support this contract, including flatbed carriers, hook-and-chain trucks, boom trucks, wheel-lift units, light-duty, medium-duty, heavy-duty wreckers, heavy-duty rotators, recovery vehicles, and any specialized equipment available for off-road or marine recoveries.

5. Tow Documentation and Invoicing Describe the documentation provided for each service call, including tow slips, dispatch records, arrival and completion times, odometer readings, mileage, services performed, equipment used, additional labor, recovery services, storage charges, tolls, and any applicable surcharge. Describe how supporting documentation will be provided to the Massachusetts Environmental Police with invoices.

6. Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Describe your operational plan for providing towing, recovery, roadside assistance, and transport services on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, including dispatch, equipment availability, ferry/transport considerations, staffing, response times, storage, and any additional charges or limitations.

7. Roadside Assistance Services Describe your roadside assistance capabilities, including battery testing and replacement, jump starts, fuel delivery, tire replacement, lockout services, and any additional roadside assistance services available. Indicate whether these services are available statewide and on a 24/7/365 basis.

8. Vehicle and Equipment Transport Describe your ability to tow and transport the following vehicle and equipment types:

• Passenger vehicles

• Sport utility vehicles (SUVs)

• Pickup trucks

• Commercial trucks

• All-terrain vehicles (OHVs)

• Motorcycles

• Enclosed trailers

• Boats

• Boat trailers

• Other specialized law enforcement or agency equipment

9. Recovery Services

Describe your recovery capabilities, including vehicle extrication, winch-outs, accident recovery, off-road recovery, recovery from beaches, boat ramps, wooded areas, and other difficult or remote environments. Include any specialized recovery equipment or personnel certifications.

10. Vehicle Relocation Services Describe your ability to transport vehicles between dealerships, residences, Regional Headquarters, maintenance and repair facilities, storage facilities, and Commonwealth surplus locations. Include any limitations on transport distances or vehicle types.

11. Insurance, Licensing, and Qualifications Provide information regarding your insurance coverage, bonding, licenses, certifications, and any other qualifications relevant to providing towing and recovery services for public safety agencies.

Include applicable coverage limits and identify any industry certifications held by your organization.

12. Relevant Experience and References Provide examples of contracts or engagements within the past five (5) years in which your organization provided towing, recovery, and/or roadside assistance services for federal, state, county, or municipal public safety agencies, including but not limited to the Massachusetts State Police, Massachusetts Environmental Police, municipal police departments, sheriff's offices, fire departments, or other emergency response agencies.

For each example, include:

• Customer/Agency name

• Contract period (start and end dates)

• Scope of services provided

• Geographic service area

• Types of vehicles and equipment serviced

• Approximate annual call volume (if available)

• Contract value (optional)

• Customer reference, including name, title, email address, and telephone number (if available)

13. Pricing Structure Describe your pricing methodology for all services offered, including, at a minimum:

• Standard towing

• Mileage charges

• Recovery services

• Winching and extrication

• Roadside assistance

• Vehicle storage

• After-hours and holiday service

• Heavy-duty towing

• Island service (Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket)

• Out-of-state towing, when applicable

b. Equipment and Fleet Identify and describe all software, hardware, vehicles, equipment, and related resources necessary to support the proposed statewide towing and recovery services. Include the number and types of tow trucks, recovery vehicles, specialized equipment, storage facilities, dispatch locations, and personnel available to support the Massachusetts Environmental Police.

c. Administrative and Support Services Identify and describe any administrative, dispatch, account management, reporting, invoicing, and customer support services your organization provides. Include any dedicated account management, performance reporting, or training that would support the Massachusetts Environmental Police throughout the contract term.

d. Current Service Experience Describe your current experience providing towing, recovery, roadside assistance, or fleet support services for public sector or commercial clients. Identify any subcontractors, business partners, or affiliated organizations that participate in delivering these services.

e. Similar Projects Describe similar statewide or regional towing and recovery projects that your organization has successfully completed. Include a summary of the services provided, project scope, customer type, and the critical success factors that contributed to successful contract performance.

f. Third-Party Relationships Describe any subcontractors, affiliate organizations, or third-party service providers that would be relied upon to perform services under this contract. Explain each organization's role, geographic coverage, and how service quality, response times, and contract compliance are managed.

g. Pricing Information If not already included in your response, describe your pricing methodology for the proposed services.

Include a breakdown of costs, as applicable, for:

• Standard towing

• Mileage

• Roadside assistance

• Winching and recovery

• Heavy-duty recovery

• Vehicle storage

• Specialized equipment

• After-hours, weekend, and holiday service

• Island service (Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket)

• Out-of-state towing

Heavy-Duty/Commercial Vehicle Recovery: Describe the pricing methodology for recovery of commercial motor vehicles, including recovery equipment, labor, winching, rotator use, specialized equipment, and other recovery services.

Fuel Surcharges: Identify whether the Respondent proposes to apply any fuel surcharge and, if so, describe the methodology, frequency, applicable rates, and supporting documentation.

Please identify any government pricing, volume discounts, or other pricing incentives available to the Massachusetts Environmental Police.

h. Training and Account Support Describe any onboarding, training, account management, or customer support services provided to Massachusetts Environmental Police personnel. Include the types of training available, delivery methods, duration, locations (if applicable), training materials provided, and whether additional fees apply.

i. Operations and Service Support Describe your ongoing operational support model, including hours of operation, dispatch availability, service response standards, escalation procedures, performance monitoring, and customer communication processes used to support contract performance for the Massachusetts Environmental Police.

j. Service Flexibility Describe your ability to customize service delivery to meet the operational needs of the Massachusetts Environmental Police, including regional coverage requirements, vehicle classifications, specialized equipment, emergency response priorities, reporting requirements, and other agency-specific operational needs. Identify any costs associated with customized services.

k. Statewide Contracts List any current or previous participation in Massachusetts statewide contracts or other government contracts that may be relevant to the proposed towing and recovery services. Identify the contract name or number, contracting agency, contract period, and a brief description of the services provided.

l. Cover Letter Provide a cover letter that includes the following information:

• Company name (including parent company, if applicable)

• Company address

• Company website

• Primary contact name, title, telephone number, and email address

• A brief description of the company, including years in business, areas of expertise, geographic service area, and experience providing towing, recovery, and roadside assistance services for public safety agencies, government organizations, or comparable clients.

• A statement acknowledging the company's interest in providing statewide towing and recovery services to the Massachusetts Environmental Police.

Regional Coverage Reference Respondents should identify the tow zone areas they can support in Appendix A – Geographic Coverage/Tow Zones attached, or equivalent regional coverage capabilities, as a benchmark for statewide response planning. The tow zone descriptions in the supporting files show the geographic scope used by MSP across the Commonwealth.

14. HAZMAT Services and Response

Describe your organization's ability to provide hazardous materials (HAZMAT) response services in connection with towing, recovery, motor vehicle accidents, spills, and disabled vehicles. Identify available HAZMAT equipment, personnel qualifications and certifications, containment and cleanup capabilities, disposal procedures, and response availability. Identify any HAZMAT services that are provided directly and any services that require subcontractors or third-party providers. Describe applicable charges for HAZMAT response and identify any limitations on the types or quantities of hazardous materials your organization is equipped to handle. Identify the types of hazardous materials incidents your organization is equipped to respond to and identify any response activities that require specialized subcontractors or third-party providers.

7. General Instructions

• This RFI is issued solely for the purpose of obtaining information. Nothing in this RFI shall be interpreted as a commitment on the part of MEP to enter into a contract with any respondent.

• Respondent questions should be submitted in writing in accordance with the final posting instructions and any COMMBUYS requirements included in the solicitation package.

• Respondents should submit one electronic copy of their response and consecutively number all pages.

• Respondents may answer any or all questions; if a respondent elects not to answer any item, the respondent should note that election and, if possible, explain why.

8. No Reimbursement By submitting a response, respondents agree that any cost incurred in responding to this RFI shall be the sole responsibility of the respondent. Massachusetts Environmental Police shall not be held responsible for any costs incurred in preparing a response.

9. Review Rights Responses to this RFI may be reviewed and evaluated by any person(s) at the discretion of the Massachusetts Environmental Police, including independent consultants retained by MEP now or in the future.

10. RFI Attachments

• Attachment A - Statewide Towing Service Requirements Table

• Attachment B - COMMBUYS Instructions

ATTACHMENT A - STATEWIDE TOWING SERVICE REQUIREMENTS TABLE

The following terms may be used by MEP to assess a proposed towing and recovery service model.

Respondents should indicate the manner in which the proposed service meets each term, or provide a justification where a term is not applicable.

Category Requirement Respondent Response

Support and Training

Technical support / dispatch coordination should be available 24x7x365; the vendor should identify its dispatch hours, escalation path, and after-hours contact method.

[Describe compliance / attach explanation]

Service Level Vendor should provide a response-time target and define how ETA is measured for priority police calls.

[Describe compliance / attach explanation]

Service Level Scheduled maintenance of equipment or planned service interruptions should not affect emergency response availability.

[Describe compliance / attach explanation]

Service Level Vendor should identify response and resolution times for towing, roadside, recovery, and special equipment assignments.

[Describe compliance / attach explanation]

Remedies Vendor should describe any service credits or fee reductions available for missed response commitments, if applicable.

[Describe compliance / attach explanation]

Reports Vendor should provide performance metrics, including call volume, response times, completion times, and service exceptions, upon request.

[Describe compliance / attach explanation]

Changes Vendor should not materially degrade service levels or coverage without prior written notice to MEP.

[Describe compliance / attach explanation]

Updates and upgrades Vendor should notify MEP in advance of changes that could affect dispatch, communication, billing, or service availability.

[Describe compliance / attach explanation]

Agency Data Vendor should identify any data collected in connection with service delivery, invoicing, or dispatch and explain retention/export procedures.

[Describe compliance / attach explanation]

Data Privacy and Security Vendor should comply with applicable laws and protect any MEP-related information, call logs, and vehicle records.

[Describe compliance / attach explanation]

Disaster Recovery Vendor should maintain continuity procedures to preserve service during outages, severe weather, or equipment failure.

[Describe compliance / attach explanation]

Records and Audit Vendor should retain service records, invoices, and call logs for a reasonable [Describe compliance / attach explanation]

Category Requirement Respondent Response period and make them available upon request.

Transition Assistance Vendor should cooperate with MEP in connection with service transition, rollover, or contract end.

[Describe compliance / attach explanation]

ATTACHMENT B - COMMBUYS INSTRUCTIONS

a. COMMBUYS System

COMMBUYS is the official source of information for this Bid and is publicly accessible at no charge at www.commbuys.com. Information contained in this document and in COMMBUYS, including file attachments, and information contained in the related Bid Questions and Answers (Q&A), are components of the Bid, as referenced in COMMBUYS, and are incorporated into the Bid and any resulting contract.

Bidders are solely responsible for obtaining all information distributed for this Bid via COMMBUYS.

Bid Q&A supports Bidder submission of written questions associated with a Bid and publication of official answers.

It is each Bidder’s responsibility to check COMMBUYS for:

• Any amendments, addenda, or modifications to this Bid, and

• Any Bid Q&A records related to this Bid.

Massachusetts Environmental Police accepts no responsibility and will provide no accommodation to Bidders who submit a Quote based on an out-of-date Bid or on information received from a source other than COMMBUYS.

b. Online Questions (Bid Q&A)

Written Questions must be entered using the “Bid Q&A” tab for the Bid in COMMBUYS no later than the “Online Questions Due” date and time indicated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar (above).

The issuing department reserves the right to not respond to questions submitted after this date. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to verify receipt of questions.

It is the responsibility of the prospective Bidder and awarded Contractor to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the email address of the Bidder’s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from the Purchasing Department, including requests for clarification. The Purchasing Department and MEP assume no responsibility if a prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s computer, network, or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective Bidder/Awarded contractor and the Purchasing Department to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering.

http://www.commbuys.com/

Written Responses to Questions will be released on or about the “Responses to Questions Posted Online” date indicated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar (above).

(Written questions and responses will be posted on the Bid Q&A Tab for this Bid in COMMBUYS.)