ESP Transportation - Butler, Clinton, and Warren Counties

The Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio (COA) is soliciting proposals through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process for Elderly Services Program (ESP) Transportation providers serving Butler, Clinton, and Warren counties in Ohio. The procurement seeks qualified organizations to deliver Medical Transportation services—enabling older adults to access medical appointments and pharmacy visits when alternative funding is unavailable—to clients in all three counties, and Non-Medical Transportation services to Butler and Clinton county clients only, with transportation extending into Clermont and Hamilton counties as needed. Bidders must demonstrate a minimum of two years of transportation service experience, maintain comprehensive insurance coverage including $1,000,000 commercial general liability and $1,000,000 commercial automobile liability, and comply with all Advanced Conditions of Participation and Service Specifications. Service delivery requirements include driver qualifications (valid driver's license with fewer than six points, two years verified licensed driving experience, physician fitness certification, first aid and CPR training, and passenger assistance training within six months of hire), vehicle standards (annual inspections, current registration and insurance certificates, proper identification), and operational compliance (punctual arrivals within ±10 minutes, professional conduct, wheelchair safety protocols, and detailed documentation of all trips). The RFP was published April 15, 2026, with a mandatory bidders' conference scheduled for April 22, 2026, from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EST at 4601 Malsbary Road, Blue Ash, Ohio; all questions must be submitted by April 24, 2026, at 2:59 p.m. EST through the Euna Procurement platform with responses due by April 29, 2026. Proposals are due May 27, 2026, by 11:59 a.m. EST, with an estimated award date in the week of July 6, 2026, and contract performance running from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2029, with two optional one-year renewals. Evaluation will assess financial health and stability, service delivery capability, organizational structure, recruitment and training programs, quality management processes, backup plans for staff and vehicle unavailability, and electronic trip verification systems, with a maximum of 100 evaluation points.

The RFP documents do not identify any set-aside designations or restrictions limiting participation to disadvantaged enterprises or specific organization types; however, bidders must be formally registered Ohio business entities in good standing with current business licensing and must complete mandatory attestations regarding tax compliance, absence of felony convictions among owners and officers, and non-debarment from federal funding. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified in the procurement materials. Providers must implement or integrate with COA-approved billing formats and technology systems, including a Technology Management System (TMS) with an annual license fee of $750 for transportation providers, and must utilize electronic trip verification systems to document service delivery. Based on 2025 service data, the RFP estimates approximately 297 Medical Transportation clients in Butler County (7,483 service units), 22 clients in Clinton County (211 units), 315 clients in Warren County (6,943 units), and 116 Non-Medical Transportation clients in Butler County (1,520 units), where one unit equals one-way trip; however, COA explicitly states there is no commitment on volumes due to the unknown nature of RFP responses. The agreement template indicates compensation is structured according to rate schedules in Exhibit B with monthly reimbursement via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) within sixty days for general services and weekly for transportation services, though specific unit rates or total contract values are not disclosed in the publicly available RFP materials. COA reserves the right to award contracts to multiple providers, reject any or all bids, and adjust rates, units, and service zones at its discretion.