Ridot: on-call transit planning

The Rhode Island Department of Administration Division of Purchases is requesting proposals on behalf of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation Planning Division Office of Transit and Capital Planning for on-call transit planning consultant services under TRFP27006857, with proposals due August 25, 2026 at 1:00 PM EDT and a vendor Q&A period through August 17.

The solicitation seeks to establish up to three consultant contracts for planning, design-level analyses, and investigations to increase ridership, develop faster and more frequent transit services, and foster transit-supportive economic development across Rhode Island's rapid transit network including rail, ferry, and fixed-route bus routes. Work encompasses data collection, mapping, ridership projections, environmental review, service modeling, conceptual design preparation, 3-D modeling and visualization, communications support, grant-writing assistance, and marketing techniques, with geographic scope statewide but concentration on areas identified in the Transit Master Plan as having medium to high transit demand propensity.

Consultant teams must demonstrate a minimum of five years of transit planning experience. Key personnel must include a Project Manager with ten years of rail and bus transit planning experience, a Project Planner with ten years of transit planning experience, a Staff Planner, Staff Engineer, GIS/Design Technician, and office support staff. Respondents must hold Rhode Island Certificate of Authorization and professional registrations; maintain professional liability insurance of $2,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 annual aggregate, general liability of $1,000,000, workers compensation of $100,000, and automobile liability of $1,000,000; and provide current Financial Review Reports or audited financials.

Each contract term is three years at $110,000 per year, not to exceed $330,000 per contract, with options for up to two additional one-year renewals. Compensation is provided through fixed hourly rates including direct labor costs, indirect costs, and 10 percent fixed fee (profit), plus direct expenses. Indirect cost rates not to exceed 125 percent are subject to State approval. A 0.33 percent contract administrative fee is withheld from invoices. The initial contract period begins in October 2026.

Proposals must include separate technical and cost proposals, ISBE (Minority, Women, and Disability Business Enterprise) participation plans, and required attestation and certification forms. Technical proposals are evaluated on staff qualifications (0–40 points), relevant experience (0–45 points), and project approach (0–15 points). Cost proposals are scored with the lowest-cost vendor receiving 100 percent of available cost points and others calculated proportionally. The State reserves the right to make single or multiple awards, reject all bids, or cancel the solicitation.