Bus Detailing

The Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation (IPTC), a municipal corporation operating public transit services in Marion County, Indiana, is seeking proposals through Request for Proposal 26-01-570 to provide monthly detailing services for its bus fleet. The procurement involves deep interior cleaning and wheel cleaning for approximately 40-foot and 60-foot buses, with services to be performed onsite at IPTC's facility located at 1501 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46222. IPTC currently details approximately 143 forty-foot buses and 33 sixty-foot buses monthly, with fleet projections ranging from 221 to 250 total buses through 2030, and all vendor responses must be scalable and flexible to accommodate fleet fluctuations. The vendor must submit pricing on a per-bus basis for each bus size category, plus separate pricing for biannual seatbelt cleaning campaigns, with pricing valid for 120 days from proposal submission. The initial contract term is three years with two optional one-year renewal periods exercisable by IPTC, and services are scheduled to commence on June 1, 2026. Key deadlines include a pre-proposal meeting on Thursday, March 12, 2026, at 11:00 AM EST via Microsoft Teams; written questions and contract exceptions due Friday, March 20, 2026, at 3:00 PM EST with answers provided by March 27, 2026; and proposals due Monday, April 13, 2026, by 3:00 PM EST through the Bonfire portal. Evaluation will utilize a best-value approach weighted as follows: Staffing and Operational Plan (40%), Quality, Safety, and Security Plan (30%), Cost (20%), and References/Experience (10%), with vendors required to demonstrate financial capability through three years of financial statements, maintain commercial general liability insurance with minimum combined limits of $1,000,000, provide employer's liability insurance, secure automobile liability coverage, and ensure all employees pass annual fingerprint criminal background checks and are not registered sex offenders.

The procurement is subject to 49 CFR Part 26 Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) participation requirements, as IPTC is a recipient of federal funding through the Federal Transit Administration, with established goals for minority, women, veteran, and disability-owned business participation. The current incumbent contractor is DetailXperts, Inc. of Indianapolis, Indiana. IPTC will provide all cleaning supplies, equipment, water, and related materials, while the vendor is responsible for staffing, labor, and operational costs. Billing is structured based on the number of buses completed rather than hours worked, offering clarity and accountability in the compensation model. No specific budget range or award value is explicitly stated in the procurement documents; however, the scope involving monthly detailing of approximately 143 to 176 buses across three years with potential expansion through 2030 suggests a significant contract opportunity. Vendors should be prepared to discuss their capacity to scale operations efficiently while maintaining quality standards across IPTC's growing fleet.