Cranerides operator services

The City of Altamonte Springs, Florida (Seminole County) is issuing Request for Proposal (RFP) 26-009-FH to procure turnkey, full-service autonomous vehicle (AV) shuttle operator services for its CraneRides transportation network. The procurement seeks a qualified firm to provide comprehensive AV shuttle operations including vehicle procurement and deployment, charging infrastructure installation and maintenance, daily operations with staffing, and integration of real-time tracking and mobile applications. The service will operate along a 4.4-mile fixed-route corridor connecting the Altamonte Springs SunRail station to major employment, healthcare, retail, and residential destinations, with six currently established ADA-accessible stops expandable to twelve permanent stops. Operations will occur seven days per week from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM Monday through Friday and 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM on weekends, with 15-minute headway targets utilizing an electric shuttle fleet accommodating up to ten passengers. Key deliverables include detailed vehicle specifications achieving SAE Level 3 autonomous navigation at contract initiation with a roadmap to Level 4 compliance, comprehensive safety protocols aligned with the City's Transit Bus System Safety Program Plan, first responder and staff training programs, cybersecurity countermeasures, and data collection systems supporting weekly and monthly reporting on ridership and vehicle performance metrics. The contractor must maintain a minimum 99% service uptime and comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Florida autonomous vehicle regulations, while the service remains fare-free to all riders. Minimum qualifications require at least three years of experience providing turnkey AV shuttle services to Florida local governments, current business registration, E-Verify compliance, and insurance coverage including workers' compensation, commercial general liability of $5,000,000 per occurrence and $10,000,000 aggregate, and business automobile liability of $2,000,000 combined single limit. Evaluation will be conducted on a 100-point scale assessing qualifications and experience (15 points), similar project experience (20 points), approach to engagement (20 points), business/firm history (5 points), and compensation (5 points), among other criteria. The question submission deadline is February 6, 2026 at 4:30 PM, with proposals due February 17, 2026 at 11:00 AM to the City Procurement Division at 225 Newburyport Avenue, Suite 1030, Altamonte Springs, Florida 32701-3697. The City Commission intends to award the contract at their regularly scheduled March 2026 meeting, with an effective date of July 1, 2026, and a transition period from April 6 through June 30, 2026.

The procurement contains no identified set-aside designations or restrictions limiting responses to disadvantaged or minority-owned enterprises; however, all proposers must comply with federal procurement standards under 2 CFR 200.317-200.326, human trafficking affidavits, foreign country of concern attestations, and public records requirements under Florida Statute Chapter 119. The incumbent vendor is Beep, Inc., which currently operates the autonomous shuttle service under the existing System Safety Program Plan adopted March 26, 2025; the contractor must integrate with existing regional transit partners including SunRail, LYNX, and FDOT systems through GTFS feeds and API connectivity as detailed in the Florida Department of Transportation's Data Aggregation and Dissemination System (DADS). Infrastructure requirements include designated vehicle parking and storage zones, fencing and charging infrastructure locations, transformer installation sites, and GNSS Base installation points as identified on the Vehicle Parking and Storage Map (Exhibit C). The initial contract term spans one year with options to extend for four additional one-year terms, not to exceed five years total, upon mutual agreement; either party may cancel with 45 days' written notice, though the contractor cannot exercise this option during the first 90 days. Compensation will be structured on an hourly basis consistent with actual hours worked, with fees and rates to be negotiated and made part of the final contract; proposals must submit annual fixed fees for each of the five contract years with a grand total amount required for the entire contract period, though specific budget ranges or award values are not disclosed in the procurement documents. The City maintains one of the lowest tax rates in Florida and is completely debt-free, indicating fiscal stability for the contract relationship.