Question___Answer_Set__1.docx

Question and Answer (Q&A) Set # 1

"...d. All Goods to be delivered hereunder may be subject to final inspection, test and acceptance by the State at destination, notwithstanding any payment or inspection at source. Notwithstanding anything else to the contrary in the Contract, within fifteen (15) calendar days after delivery of the Goods to the State, the State shall conduct acceptance tests on the Goods. The acceptance tests to be conducted by the State, and the criteria and standards in respect of such tests, shall be agreed upon by the State and the Contractor prior to the Contractor building the Goods. If a Good passes these tests or if the State does not notify the Contractor of non-acceptance within 15 calendar days after delivery of the Good, acceptance of the Good by the State shall be deemed to have occurred on the 15th day after delivery. Acceptance shall occur earlier if the State notifies the Contractor of early acceptance or places the Good into service."

"e... If the State does not provide such notice of rejection within fifteen (15) calendar days, of delivery,..."

"New Subsection - Add to the end of s. 17:

The State and its representatives and agents agree to enter into a confidentiality agreement with the Contractor prior to commencing an audit, review or analysis in order to protect and maintain the confidentiality of the Contractor’s information."

The State is not accepting any changes to the Non-IT General Provisions.

"...If funds to effect such continued payment are not appropriated, Contractor agrees to take back any affected goods furnished under this Contract, and terminate any services supplied to the State under this Contract. The Contractor shall be paid its costs, including contract close-out costs and profit on work performed up to the time of termination."

The State is not accepting any changes to the Non-IT General Provisions.

"… if any, is concluded and the Contract shall not be void. The Contractor shall be paid its costs, including contract close-out costs, and profit on work performed up to the time of termination.”

The State is not accepting any changes to the Non-IT General Provisions.

"...c. If the State terminates this Contract in whole or in part, for default under this paragraph 24 of the Contract, it may acquire, under the terms and in the manner the buyer considers appropriate, goods or services similar to those terminated, and the Contractor will be liable to the State for any commercially reasonable excess costs for those goods or services. However, the Contractor shall continue the work not terminated.”

"...d.

....ii. Partially completed goods and materials, parts, tools, dies, jigs, fixtures and Contract rights (collectively referred to as "manufacturing materials" in this clause) that the Contractor has specifically produced or acquired for the terminated portion of this Contract."

The State is not accepting any changes to the Non-IT General Provisions.

"The Contractor shall not be liable for any excess costs if the failure to perform the Contract arises from causes beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of the Contractor. Examples of such causes include, but are not limited to:

a. Acts of God or of the public enemy, and

b. Acts of the federal or state government in either its sovereign or contractual capacity., and

c. Natural disasters, floods, fires, epidemics, pandemics, acts of war or terrorism, labor shortages, strikes or lock-outs or shortages or loss of transportation.

If the failure to perform is caused by the default of a subcontractor at any tier, and if the cause of the default is beyond the control the Contractor, and without the fault or negligence of the Contractor, the Contractor shall not be liable for any excess costs for failure to perform.

If the Contractor is delayed at any time during the performance of the work by the neglect or failure of the State or by delay or failure of the Contractor caused by an event beyond its control, including, but not limited to, the above-referenced causes, then the time for completion of the work and/or the delivery dates shall be extended by the State by a reasonable period of time after such event of delay has ended in order that the Contractor may complete the work or deliver the vehicles.

The State is not accepting any changes to the Non-IT General Provisions.

"The Contractor shall be liable for proven third party damages arising out of injury to the person and/or damage to the property of the State, employees of the State, persons designated by the State for training, or any other person(s) other than agents or employees of the Contractor, designated by the State for any purpose, prior to, during, or subsequent to delivery, installation, acceptance, and use of the Goods either at the Contractor's site or at the State's place of business, provided that the injury or damage was directly caused by the negligence of the Contractor."

The State is not accepting any changes to the Non-IT General Provisions.

"Contractor agrees to indemnify and save harmless the State, its officers, agents and employees from any and all proven third party damages accruing or resulting to any and all Contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, laborers and any other person, firm, or corporation furnishing or supplying work, services, materials or supplies in the performance of this Contract directly caused by the negligence of the Contractor, and from any and all proven third party damages for personal injury, death or property damage directly caused by the negligence of the Contractor in the performance of this Contract."

The State is not accepting any changes to the Non-IT General Provisions.

"The State and its representatives and agents agree to enter into a confidentiality agreement with the Contractor prior to commencing an audit, review or analysis in order to protect and maintain the confidentiality of the Contractor’s information."

The State is not accepting any changes to the Non-IT General Provisions.

"All “subject data”, including specifications, technical data, records and reports, engineering drawings (including shop drawings and working drawings), manuals and instruction materials and computer or microprocessor software that is delivered or specified to be delivered under the Contract shall remain the property of the Contractor; provided however, the State shall have a royalty-free, non-exclusive, non-transferable and irrevocable license to use such subject data only for the purposes of operating and maintaining the vehicles."

The State is not accepting any changes to the Non-IT General Provisions. The revision requested pertains to American Public Transportation Association (APTA) General Conditions Section, which is not applicable to this procurement. The only reference to APTA for this RFP is the Technical Specifications.

"The State shall assume risk of loss of the vehicle on delivery. Prior to delivery, the Contractor shall have risk of loss of the vehicle. Title to the vehicle shall pass to the State upon acceptance of the vehicle by the State."

The State is not accepting any changes to the Non-IT General Provisions. The revision requested pertains to American Public Transportation Association (APTA) General Conditions Section, which is not applicable to this procurement. The only reference to APTA for this RFP is the Technical Specifications.

"Notwithstanding anything else to the contrary in the Contract, the Contractor shall not be liable for any excess costs arising out of causes beyond the Contract and without the fault or negligence of the Contractor. Such causes must be clearly documented to the satisfaction of the State and may include, but are not restricted to, Acts of God or the public enemy, acts of the US or Canadian Government in their sovereign capacities, acts of the State in its contractual capacity, fires, floods, natural disasters, epidemics, pandemics (including but not limited to COVID-19), quarantine restrictions, labor shortages, strikes or lock-outs, shortages or loss of transportation, supplier or other third party surcharges due to supply chain disruption, inflation or other causes beyond the Contractor’s control, fright embargos, unusually severe weather, but in every case the excess costs must be beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of the Contractor."

The State is not accepting any changes to the Non-IT General Provisions. The revision requested pertains to American Public Transportation Association (APTA) General Conditions Section, which is not applicable to this procurement. The only reference to APTA for this RFP is the Technical Specifications.

"The State grants the Contractor the right to inspect, examine, download, and otherwise obtain any information or data available from components provided by the Contractor, including, but not limited to, any electronic control modules or other data-collection devices, to the extent necessary to enable the Contractor to perform reliability maintenance analysis, corrective action and/or other engineering-type work for the vehicles."

The State is not accepting any changes to the Non-IT General Provisions. The revision requested pertains to American Public Transportation Association (APTA) General Conditions Section, which is not applicable to this procurement. The only reference to APTA for this RFP is the Technical Specifications

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Exhibit 6, Warranty Requirements Exhibit 8, Training Requirements Exhibit 9, New Bus Manufacturing Inspection Guidelines

What documentation is required to be submitted with the proposal?

These exhibits do not require a response from the bidder in their proposal. If a bidder signs the Agreement Cover Letter (Section 2.3.4.5) and submits a proposal, they agree to the terms of these exhibits.

Do not include anything in your proposal that the State does not ask for.

The customer service unit shall respond to all inquiries within 24 hours excluding weekends and company holidays.

Please see Addendum 2 for updated language.

Price adjustments may only be requested when the cost of finished products based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index (PPI) for Transportation Equipment – Truck and Bus Bodies, PPI # WPU1413 has increased.

Please see Addendum 2 for updated language.

Notwithstanding anything else to the contrary contained herein, in the event that a price adjustment is required in respect of changes that are mandatory as a result of legislation or regulations that become effective after the date of the tender submission, such price adjustment shall be negotiated in good faith by the State and the Contractor.

Please see Addendum 2 for updated language.

Responsibility and liability for loss or damage for all orders shall remain with the Contractor until delivery, when all responsibility shall pass to the ordering agency, except the responsibility for latent defects, fraud, and the warranty obligations.

Please see Addendum 2 for updated language.

Per RFP Section 1.1.2, Local/Other Government Participation, Government agencies from other states may negotiate payment provisions with the Contractor.

Bidder is to input price per hour for support contract line items, in the contract price cell.

1. Minor/Major Warranty-covered repairs should be carried out by the Agency and reimbursed through the Contractor's on-line warranty system. Contractor is available to assist in completing these warranty-covered repairs if needed. Whenever feasible and mutually beneficial, the Agency may provide a workspace for the Contractor to accomplish the repair onsite as needed. This allows us to work with Agency to return the bus to revenue service as quickly as possible. If shop space is unavailable, Contractor will utilize one of its three subcontractors with their own service facilities within the State of California area to perform the repairs and get the buses back into revenue service as soon as possible. In addition, Contractor can utilize its service centers for repairs within the State of California as needed. This will be provided in lieu of on-site service technician.

2. Major Component Warranty repairs should be carried out by the equipment suppliers (HVAC and destination sign suppliers) in order to adhere to their mandate that all warranty repairs be performed by an authorized dealer unless the Agency is an authorized warranty center. If The Agency elects to perform these repairs, without the written permission of the original equipment manufacturer, the remaining warranty coverage may be voided.

No change to this RFP section.

This warranty covers defects that occur in the structural layers of the bus body, including the laminate and balsa core.

This warranty does not cover defects to non-structural members, including without limitation superficial cracks in the gel coat or skin coat surface layers of the bus body.

For more information regarding gel coat and skin coat cracks, please refer to the Phoenix Gel Coat Crack Inspection Guidelines available from your Service representative.

Excludes:

• Non-structural members.

• Physical damage due to accidents or other impacts.

• Modified/Repaired components that were damaged and repaired after collision.

No change to this RFP section.

Drive & Non-Drive Axles - 5 years/300,000 miles (limited warranty). Please refer to the attached MAN warranty document.

Siemens Propulsion System (Traction Motor/Inverters) - 5 years/300,000 mile No change to this RFP section.

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Within fourteen calendar days after notice of a fleet defect, the Contractor shall submit to the ordering agency, a written work program and schedule for correcting the defect.

No change to this RFP section.

The work program shall be reasonably designed to prevent the occurrence of the same defect in all other buses and parts purchased under the contract with the same configuration, and shall include, as applicable, redesign and/or replacement of defectively designed or manufactured parts, and inspection and repair of all buses purchased under the contract.

No change to this RFP section.

1. Minor/Major Warranty-covered repairs should be carried out by the Agency and reimbursed through the Contractor's on-line warranty system. Contractor is available to assist in completing these warranty-covered repairs if needed. Whenever feasible and mutually beneficial, the Agency may provide a workspace for the Contractor to accomplish the repair onsite as needed. This allows us to work with Agency to return the bus to revenue service as quickly as possible. If shop space is unavailable, Contractor will utilize one of its three subcontractors with their own service facilities within the State of California area to perform the repairs and get the buses back into revenue service as soon as possible. In addition, Contractor can utilize its service centers for repairs within the State of California as needed. This will be provided in lieu of on-site service technician.

- Major Component Warranty repairs should be carried out by the equipment suppliers (HVAC and destination sign suppliers) in order to adhere to their mandate that all warranty repairs be performed by an authorized dealer unless the Agency is an authorized warranty center. If The Agency elects to perform these repairs, without the written permission of the original equipment manufacturer, the remaining warranty coverage may be voided.

No change to this RFP section.

Staff deployed to the ordering agency shall be able to complete the repairs and correct the defect, fleet defects or related defects

Please note that Proposer’s warranty claim period is 30 days from the date of failure and any claims submitted later than 30 days may be denied.

Solicitation doesn't prescribe any intake process for warranty claims. If awarded a contract, the State will review and approve at time of contract implementation.

No change to the claim submittal timeframe. Each claim must be submitted no more than 30 calendar days from the date of failure and/or repair, whichever is later.

Driver Orientation: suggest 4hrs vs 8hrs Driver Behind the Wheel: MCI practically trains by travelling with the drivers and answering questions along the way.

PM: suggest 4hrs vs 8hrs Electrical: Suggest to combine with MUX for a total of 16hrs vs 8hrs HVAC: suggest 16hrs vs 4hrs Brakes: suggest 8hrs vs 4hrs ESS: suggest 16hrs vs 8hrs Electric Drive: suggest 24hrs vs 8hrs Per Exhibit 8, Training Requirements, the training topics are minimum requirements. Adjustments to the topics and/or hours may be made upon approval of the ordering agency.

Exhibit 8, Training Requirements, do not require a response from the bidder in their proposal. If a bidder signs the Agreement Cover Letter (Section 2.3.4.5) and submits a proposal, they agree to the terms of this exhibit.

Do not include anything in your proposal that the State does not ask for.

The State rejects the request to not supply the Bus Service and Parts Manuals no earlier than 20 business days after delivery of the last bus. Contractor is required to supply all manuals outlined in Exhibit 8, Training Requirements, within 30 days following the delivery of the first production vehicle.

Bus Parts manuals are maintained for a period of 12 years. All other Bus manuals and documents are maintained for a period of 6 years.

No change to this RFP section.

Also request approval to provide a comprehensive list of recommended specialized tools and diagnostic equipment and each Agency can select which tools and in which quantities are required based on their particular operation.

No change to this RFP section.

A supplement to this manual shall he provided to identify required skill level and labor hours required to perform routine maintenance activities such as inspection, lubrication, brake reline, and component removal and replacement.

Technical services will need to supply the Standard Repair Times information.

Training will need to supply the diagnostic hardware and software No change to this RFP section.

All technical change or modification (retrofit) are communicated to the customers by our customer services team with an ITS (Instructions to Service) document.

The bus technical manuals are maintained after issue date with either replacement pages or manual bulleting depending on the importance and number of changes involved. Manual bulletins are distributed as PDFs via email shortly after the need is identified.

Regular updates involve the supply of revised PDFs and are supplied after a sufficient number of revisions are recorded.

No change to this RFP section.