20260407 - Inter City Bus (ICB) Consulting

The Susquehanna Regional Transportation Authority (SRTA), operating as rabbittransit in Pennsylvania, is soliciting proposals for consulting services to evaluate and analyze existing Inter City Bus (ICB) routes and develop recommendations for the 2026-2027 ICB procurement process. This request for proposals seeks a qualified consulting firm to conduct comprehensive market analysis, literature reviews, supply and demand assessments, and gap analyses for ICB routes throughout Pennsylvania and potential corridors connecting Philadelphia, Reading, and Harrisburg, serving twelve counties including Adams, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Harrisburg City, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Snyder, Union, and York Counties. The contractor must deliver detailed project milestones with associated costs, a draft report due by August 10, 2026, and a final report by August 24, 2026, including executive summary, methodology, existing conditions analysis, demand analysis, service gap analysis, corridor analysis, evaluation criteria, and recommendations with supporting data and models. The final deliverable milestone must represent no less than five percent of total contract value. Key deadlines include a proposal submission deadline of 2:00 PM on May 25, 2026, with questions accepted until 2:00 PM on May 11, 2026, possible interviews scheduled for the week of June 1, 2026, and a contract start date of July 1, 2026. The contractor must participate in weekly level-set meetings beginning three days after project kickoff and provide detailed meeting agendas one day in advance. All proposals and pricing must be submitted through the PennBid.net platform and must comply with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and PennDOT requirements; proposal development costs are the sole responsibility of proposers and cannot be reimbursed or included in cost proposals, and all pricing must be guaranteed for 120 days after the proposal due date.

This procurement is subject to disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) participation goals of 2.11%, requiring that DBEs be afforded full opportunity to submit proposals and participate in contract performance. The contract is funded through Federal Transit Administration assistance via the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and is subject to all applicable Commonwealth and Federal laws, regulations, and FTA requirements, including Buy America provisions and standard insurance requirements. SRTA retains ownership of all data, reports, and work products generated under the contract and reserves the right to assign contract benefits to other public agencies under the same terms and conditions. No incumbent vendor information is specified in the solicitation documents. Payment terms specify that undisputed invoices will be paid 45 days after receipt, while disputed invoices will be paid 10 days after satisfactory resolution, with the contractor required to continue service during disputes. The specific budget or award value range for this consulting engagement is not provided in the available solicitation materials.