Bus Transportation Services for 2026-2027 and 2027-2028

West Basin Municipal Water District is soliciting proposals for charter bus transportation services to support its school field trip program for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 fiscal years, with a contract period running from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2028. The program serves 60 to 70 students from grades 3-12 and their adult chaperones from over 400 schools across 17 cities in the West Basin service area, operating Tuesday through Friday during the school year from September through June. The contractor must provide approximately 100 bus trips annually at maximum capacity, with each trip lasting 5-6 hours, including school pickups between 8:15 AM and 10:00 AM, visits to the Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility in El Segundo and the Roundhouse Aquarium at Manhattan Beach Pier, and return to schools by 3:30 PM. Proposals must be submitted electronically by 2:00 PM on April 28, 2026, with questions and clarifications due by April 21, 2026. Respondents are required to provide California School Pupil Activity Bus-certified charter buses equipped with seat belts, vehicle tracking capabilities, driver training documentation, and proof of Los Angeles Unified School District approval status. Evaluation criteria include technical qualifications, key personnel resumes, references (minimum three required), pricing, and responsiveness to the proposal requirements. Interviews are scheduled for the week of May 18-25, 2026, with Board recommendation anticipated for June 22, 2026, and proposals must remain valid for a minimum of 90 days.

West Basin encourages participation from small and local business enterprises, offering three evaluation points for certified Small Business Enterprise (SBE) or Local Business Enterprise (LBE) prime contractors, six points if both designations apply, and one point if qualified SBE or LBE subcontractors represent at least 30 percent of total compensation. The contractor must maintain comprehensive insurance coverage including Commercial General Liability of $5,000,000 per occurrence, Business Automobile Liability of $5,000,000 per accident, Workers' Compensation with $1,000,000 employer's liability coverage, and Sexual Abuse and Molestation insurance of $1,000,000. West Basin requires Net 30 payment terms with monthly invoicing for services rendered, and reserves audit rights for three years following contract completion. No incumbent vendor or current contractor information is identified in the solicitation materials. The specific award value or budget range is not disclosed in the publicly available documents; however, compensation will be structured on a time-and-material basis at rates to be specified in the final agreement, with total payments subject to a not-to-exceed amount to be determined during contract negotiations.