Student Transportation Services

McKinney Independent School District (McKinney ISD) in Texas is requesting proposals for comprehensive student transportation services with proposals due October 16, 2026 at 2:00 p.m., and a non-mandatory pre-proposal meeting held virtually on September 15, 2026. No set-asides, preferences, or local-vendor requirements apply.

The scope encompasses home-to-school and school-to-home transportation, special education transportation, McKinney-Vento interdistrict service, athletic and fine arts trips, field trips, extracurricular transportation, school-day shuttles, Career and Technical Education transportation, Gifted and Talented transportation, and summer programs across approximately 109 square miles and thirteen ZIP codes. The District operates approximately 227 active routes with combined daily mileage of 11,855.50 miles, serving a projected district-wide enrollment of 23,889 students in 2026-27 growing to 27,329 by 2035-36. Current staffing includes 172 bus drivers, 56 monitors, 11 passenger-van drivers, and approximately 85 District coach drivers. The District maintains a mixed fleet of approximately 180 buses and vans, including modern 2023-2024 IC Corporation diesel school buses and supplemental vendor-supplied vehicles. The District owns and controls all transportation data including student information, GPS data, routing, and maintenance records, and intends to transition toward District ownership of the primary operating fleet over time.

The initial contract term runs from July 1, 2027, through June 30, 2032, with one optional five-year renewal from July 1, 2032, through June 30, 2037. Cost proposals must differentiate pricing by service category (Regular Education, Specialized Transportation, Bus Monitor services, Midday Shuttle services, Athletics/Field Trips) and by vehicle ownership model (District-owned versus Contractor-owned buses), with tiered platform hour inclusions and excess hourly rates. The District provides fuel; the Contractor supplies other vehicle fluids and lubricants. Evaluation occurs in two phases: Phase 1 awards up to 170 points for cost, experience, qualifications, safety, fleet management, technology, customer service, financial capacity, and responsiveness; Phase 2 awards up to 30 points for proposed leadership, understanding of operating requirements, implementation readiness, and problem-solving ability, totaling 200 possible points. Minimum service standards include no missed service, mechanical reliability of no more than 2% delays or cancellations per week, and serious incident notification within 15 minutes. The Contractor may earn an annual performance incentive of up to 0.50% of eligible service payments for exceptional performance in safety, fleet reliability, and cost efficiency. The incumbent contractor is Durham School Services. Questions were due September 22, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Site visits were available September 28 and October 12, 2026 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Shortlist notification is anticipated November 6, 2026, with presentations and interviews November 19-20, 2026. Board meeting and anticipated award is December 14-15, 2026. Proposers must submit a proposal bond, certified check, or cashier's check equal to 5 percent of the annual home-to-school base cost.