Bus advertising services

Valley Transit, a public transportation service owned and operated by the City of Appleton, Wisconsin, is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to procure bus advertising services for the Fox Cities region. The contractor will be responsible for selling, installing, displaying, and maintaining advertising space on 28 heavy-duty buses to generate and grow advertising revenue for Valley Transit. Available advertising placements include full bus wraps, partial side wraps, streetside and curbside placements, tail advertisements, and interior bus cards. The contractor must possess the capability to manage all aspects of the advertising business, including advertiser relations, ad design assistance, billing and collections, and material sourcing. Valley Transit operates 16-20 buses in daily service, with the fleet providing 628,735 passenger trips and operating 781,320 total miles in 2024. The RFP was issued on March 10, 2026, with proposals due by 10:00 a.m. Central Time on March 31, 2026, via email to valley.transit@appletonwi.gov or by mail to Valley Transit, 801 S. Whitman Avenue, Appleton, Wisconsin 54914. The deadline for submitting written questions is March 19, 2026, with addenda distributed by March 24, 2026. Proposer interviews and presentations are scheduled for April 7, 2026, with an estimated contract award in May 2026. The contract term is five consecutive years commencing in May 2026, with provisions for renewal at Valley Transit's discretion.

No Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) contract goal has been established for this procurement; however, DBE-certified firms are encouraged to identify their certification status in their proposals. The contract is funded through federal, state, local, and city taxpayer dollars and is subject to regulations of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration under the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, as amended. The contractor must comply with all applicable federal contract clauses, including civil rights requirements, suspension and debarment provisions, and accessibility standards, and must maintain Commercial General Liability insurance with a minimum limit of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate, along with automobile liability coverage of $1,000,000 combined single limit and Workers' Compensation as required by Wisconsin. Bus availability for ad installation is limited to 2 hours for standard advertisements and up to 2 days for full bus wraps, with contractor access during 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. Valley Transit will provide the contract administrator, manage fleet maintenance, and coordinate ad installation scheduling at its garage facility, while the contractor assumes all installation and removal labor responsibilities. The contract structure requires the contractor to provide a monthly guaranteed minimum revenue payment and a monthly percentage of gross sales, with payment due to Valley Transit within 15 days of each month's end; proposers may propose different minimums and percentages for each contract year, though specific award values or budget ranges are not disclosed in the RFP documentation.