Small Lift/Non-Lift Transit Buses

The State of Michigan Department of Technology, Management, & Budget Procurement Office issued RFP #210000000703 for the procurement of small class transit buses, including both non-lift and lift variants intended for local transit agencies throughout Michigan. The solicitation was posted on January 22, 2021, with a submission deadline of March 5, 2021, providing bidders with forty-two days to prepare and submit proposals. The contract encompasses a maximum purchase quantity of 400 buses with a two-year initial term and options for up to two additional one-year renewal periods. Mandatory requirements for bidders included submission of signed Federal Transit Administration (FTA) agreements, Altoona Test Bus Reports, valid motor vehicle dealer licenses, and completed affidavits for driver delivery. The evaluation process employed a two-stage approach, with all three submitted bidders meeting minimum mandatory requirements and advancing to technical scoring, which required a minimum threshold of 80 points to qualify for pricing evaluation. Technical evaluation scores ranged from 99 to 100 points, with Transportation Equipment Sales Corp. (TESCO) and Shepard Bros., Inc. each achieving perfect 100-point scores and Hoekstra Transportation Inc. scoring 99 points. Following technical evaluation, all bidders participated in second-round price negotiations, with TESCO providing the most significant cost reduction of approximately 4.51 percent on metal small bus pricing.

The award recommendation allocates the total $48 million contract value among the three qualified vendors based on a tiered distribution model. Hoekstra Transportation Inc., located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, received the largest allocation of 95 percent ($45.6 million) for composite and metal small duty buses. TESCO of Oregon, Ohio, and Shepard Bros., Inc. of Canandaigua, New York, each received smaller allocations of 10 percent ($4.8 million) and 5 percent ($2.4 million) respectively, with their pricing capped at Hoekstra's cost to ensure competitive pricing across all vendors. The procurement documents do not specify set-aside designations or restrictions based on disadvantaged enterprise status. A critical provision of the contract stipulates that all purchasing transit agencies shall be fully or equivalently funded by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) for buses procured under these contracts, ensuring financial viability for local agencies participating in the program.