RFP-23065 Addendum No. 1 Final.pdf

Baltimore City Public Schools

Office of Materials Management

Addendum # 1

RFP-23065

Transportation Routing and Scheduling Software

This addendum is being issued to amend solicitation RFP-23065 the following changes/additions are listed below:

Attention: The due date for proposals has been extended to 11:00 am on Friday, February

9, 2024.

This addendum is being issued to amend solicitation RFP-23065 the following changes/additions are listed below:.

(Cover Page)

PROPOSAL DUE DATE: February 2 9 2024 @ 11:00 a.m.

Proposals submitted electronically to eMarylandMarketplace Advantage website

12.0 SUBMISSION DEADLINE

Proposals for this solicitation are being accepted solely online through eMaryland

Marketplace Advantage (https://emma.maryland.gov). The Proposal Due date is

February 2 9, 2024, at 11:00 am local time. Offeror’s response shall be submitted in two

PDFs (one technical and one financial) on-line to eMaryland Marketplace Advantage.

Hard copy submissions will not be accepted. All Proposals must be submitted electronically as two pdfs.

The following Questions and Answers are hereby made part of the solicitation for the above referenced project and shall be taken into account in the preparation of the solicitation response and execution of all work. Vendors shall acknowledge receipt of this addendum. In addition, these questions and responses shall clarify previous responses to questions previously submitted.

1. What is the expected date of award for this RFP?

April 2024

2. What is the expected start date for the contract?

April 2024

3. What is the expected start and end date of implementation?

• Will be determined after the contract is executed. (Anticipated implementation date May 2024.)

4. Has the district viewed product computerized bus routing and or attendance planning software product presentations from any routing software vendors within the past nine months? If so, what products were viewed?

• Yes. Athena, EZRouting, TransFinder, and Samsara

5. Page 4, Section 2.0, Background, states that the routing division has four staff members. What other personnel will need access and training on the software? This might include IT staff, admins, drivers, and others.

• Director

• (2) Assistant Directors

• (2) Operation Supervisors

• (2) Administrative Assistants

• (4) Transportation Supervisors

• (11) Call Center Staff

• (4) Dispatchers

• (1) Finacial Analyst

• (1) Data Analyst

• (2) IT Staff

• (1) Data Entry Operator

• (6) Department Assistants

6. Does the district have a current solution for the scope described on page 5? If so, what vendor or solution?

• Routing – Edulog

• GPS – Samsara

• Parent Portal – Edulog

• Fleet Maintenance and management - Samsara

7. Page 5 indicates that the district uses taxi cabs. How does the district use taxi cabs for school transportation? Please expand on the existing use cases.

• Taxi cabs are used to transport students to and from school.

8. Should the provided solution extend to the district’s taxis as well? Is there any component of the solution being solicited that should not be included in taxis?

• Yes, taxis should be included in the solution being solicited.

9. Page 7 lists "Fleet maintenance and management" as a desired software module. In the pre-proposal conference, it was suggested that this module may not actually be desired. What does the district use now? If the district does not plan to replace its current fleet maintenance software solution, will the awarded vendor be expected to integrate its software solution with the district’s existing software?

• Yes. The awarded is expected to integrate with the Districts Fleet Management

Software.

10. What vendor(s) does the district use for transportation?

• Edulog

• Samsara

• QuickBase

• Access 411

• Infinite Campus

• Student Transportation System (STS)

• Enterprise Fleet Management

• WebEx

11. From page 25, Section Part IV, Evaluation and Selection Procedure: Please provide the comparative weights (as percentages of the overall point total, for example) for the evaluation factors, if any.

• The maximum number of points you can receive is 3 points based on the Offeror’s ability to meets the requirements. There is no weighty of points in the evaluation of proposals.

Offerors will be evaluated on the following categories

1. Offeror’s Experience and Capabilities

2. Fiscal Integrity/ Financial Stability

3. Offeror’s ability to meet the requirements of the Scope of Work

4. Offeror demonstrates the ability to provide the software and related equipment as stated in Section 3.0 Scope of Services-Part I of the RFP

5. Offeror demonstrates the ability to perform the services as stated in

Section 3.0 Scope of Services -Part I of the RFP

Exceeds Requirements Demonstrated the ability to meet requirement and perform at a level that adds additional value

Meets Requirements Demonstrated the ability to perform the minimum requirement 2

Marginally Meet Requirements Did not demonstrate the ability to fully meet the requirement. Performance is expected to be marginal. 1

Does Not Meet Requirements Did not demonstrate the ability to fully meet the requirement. 0

12. From Appendix A, Special Terms and Conditions, which appears on page 27: the general requirements on this page refer to a vendor obligation to be an “authorized dealer” of the hardware to be installed, and to the district’s right to have inspectors present during the manufacturing process. We are offering a Software as a Service solution that uses hardware from established manufacturers with long track records of compatibility with our solution. Do items “a” and “b” under “General

Requirements” on page 27 apply to this RFP?

• Part A and B does not apply but the Contractor shall be responsible for the implementation and compatibility of the software.

13. Page 44, General Articles, Article 16.C. - Please confirm that, as we are proposing a

Software-as-a-Solution offering, the following sentence shall not apply: “City Schools has the sole right to copyright any Services developed for City Schools purposes under the Agreement, which Work shall be deemed work made for hire as defined under U.S. Copyright law and may license its use by others for a fee or without charge.”

• This article is not applicable.

14. Does the District intend to own the tablets and other hardware procured through this contract? Or does the District intend that the awarded vendor will retain ownership of the hardware proposed? Article 17 of the standard terms, which appears on page 45 of the RFP, suggests that the district seeks ownership, not a leasing arrangement. Is that correct?

• Yes, the district will own the hardware.

15. Regarding the financial proposal form on page 65, does the district want vendors to include the price of driver tablets as part of this RFP? Is it in scope? Where on the pricing page should those hardware costs be represented?

• Yes. The full cost is needed. Pricing submitted in the Financial Proposal must be fully loaded with all costs for products and services are included.

16. Regarding the financial proposal form on page 65, does the district want vendors to include the price of GPS tracking devices as part of this RFP? Where on the pricing page should those hardware costs be represented?

• Yes. Include the cost of GPS separately on a separate sheet of paper. Pricing submitted in the Financial Proposal must be fully loaded with all costs for products and services are included.

17. Does the District prefer RFID tap cards to track ridership? If so, should vendors include a price for RFID cards on the financial proposal form?

• No, other solutions to track student ridership are acceptable. The financial proposal should include all costs.

18. Can the submittal deadline be extended past the current Friday, February 2, 2024? We only received notification of this RFP on January 18, and we obviously didn’t attend the pre-proposal conference because we didn’t, at the time, know about this RFP.

• The due date will be extended to Friday, February 9, 2024 at 11:00 am.

19. It is our understanding that GPS devices are currently installed on vehicles used to transport BCPS students. Should we quote new GPS devices (and installation?) because the RFP scope of work says “The contractor shall furnish routing software, Cellular GPS system, and parent portal services for yellow school buses and alternative vehicles transporting Baltimore City Public School students.”?

• Yes, the quote should include all costs. Each component should be individually priced.

20. In regards to the required financial statements, could these be sent to you (or someone else) under separate cover (by mail, e-mail etc.? As a closely-held, privately-owned corporation, the person who responds to RFPs is not allowed to view or handle the financial statements, and because this RFP response is to be submitted electronically, there is an obvious problem.

• Audited Financial Statements or any other financial document listed on page 22 can be emailed to the Buyer at trking@bcps.k12.md.us prior to the February 9, 2024 11:00 am deadline.

21. What municipalities are required for the routing software map in addition to

Baltimore City?

• Howard County

• Baltimore County

• Frederick County

• Anne Arundel County

• Harford County

• Others could be added depending on students' transportation request.

22. If two bidders partner for this submission do you prefer their proposals separate or in one document?

• If you partner with another company, you can submit one proposal as a prime contractor. You can be the subcontractor with more than one company.

mailto:trking@bcps.k12.md.us

23. Pages 4 &5- Does the list of buses on include those with assigned runs/routes or also with spares? If it includes spares how many buses fall into this category from the list provided?

• On average 2 spare buses daily

24. What is the current routing system used by Baltimore City Schools?

• Edulog

25. What is the current SIS for Baltimore City Schools?

• Student Transportation System (STS)

26. What is the current fleet maintenance system for Baltimore City Schools?

• Samsara

27. What is the current field trips system for Baltimore City Schools?

• None

28. Pages 4-5 outline where the district utilizes contractors for student transportation.

Can you expand on the following:

Page 7 mentions GPS tacking as a desired module- do you want GPS integrated into the routing system?

• Yes

Page 7 references a parent portal- do you want a parent app, web-based parent portal, or both?

• Both

29. What GPS provider(s) do your contractors currently have?

• Samsara

• Zonar

30. What GPS provider does Baltimore City Schools utilize on fleet owned buses?

• Samsara

31. Page 7 references student tracking- is this currently installed on both contractor and fleet owned units?

• No

32. Will the contractors allow access to their GPS system(s) for integration into the routing system?

• GPS is owned by Baltimore City Schools

33. Will Baltimore City Schools allow access to their fleet owned GPS system for routing integration?

• Yes

34. Page 5- Does the mention of “cellular GPS system” reference these aforementioned questions?

• Yes

35. Are you looking for bidders here to fill in the missing GPS pieces? If so, please outline requirements so we can appropriately respond.

• No

36. Page 6- if no hardware is provided does equipment standards apply?

• Please clarify

37. Page 7- Will fleet maintenance software be required for fleet owned Baltimore City

Schools buses, contractor units, or some other combination? It would be helpful to know an exact quantity of vehicles for this module.

• Yes, Approximately, 400 buses and vans, and approximately 75 cabs.

38. Page 16- will you consider an extension for any bidder that does not have a current

Maryland Certificate of Good Standing?

• You must obtain a Maryland Certificate of Good Standing prior to the Board of

School Commissioners meeting.

39. Page 64- will you require a Prevailing Wage Form if the bidder is Canadian based?

• Not applicable.

40. Page 65- If any GPS hardware is required where do we notate that on the provided financial form?

• The cost of the GPS hardware would be entered on a separate sheet of paper but the cost will also be included on the Financial Proposal form.

41. Will copies of submitted Q&A’s from all bidders be shared after the period has closed on 1/19/24?

• Yes.

Date issued: January 30, 2024 By: Ted King, Buyer

NOTE: Acknowledgement of this and any other addenda must be included in the transmittal letter accompanying your Letter Proposal Form. Failure to acknowledge all addenda may result in your bid being considered non-responsive.