Suffolk County Transit New Rider Education and Travel Training Plan (Department of Economic Development and Planning)

Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning, through the Office of Central Procurement, is soliciting proposals via Request for Proposals No. 2026-11 for the development of a Suffolk County Transit New Rider Education and Travel Training Plan. The project comprises three primary tasks: Project Management and Coordination ($15,000), Literature and Best Practices Review ($10,000), and Travel Training Plan Development ($50,000), with a total budget not to exceed $75,000. The Plan will focus on educating new transit riders across six key demographic groups: high school students, seniors, veterans, tourists/visitors, people with physical disabilities, and people with intellectual disabilities. Evaluation criteria are weighted as follows: General Qualifications (40 points), Proposed Technical Services (50 points), and Cost Proposal (10 points), requiring proposers to demonstrate strong qualifications and technical expertise in transit rider education and travel training. The non-mandatory Proposer's Conference is scheduled for June 2, 2026, at 11:00 A.M. via video conferencing; technical questions must be submitted by June 3, 2026, at 3:30 P.M.; and all proposals must be submitted online through the Bonfire portal at https://suffolkcountyny.bonfirehub.com/portal/ by June 12, 2026, at 3:30 P.M. The anticipated contract term is two years with an optional one-year extension exercisable at the County's sole discretion, and funding derives in part from the Federal Transit Administration and Federal Highway Administration via the New York Metropolitan Transportation Committee.

No set-aside designations or disadvantaged business enterprise preferences apply to this procurement, with the DBE goal currently set at 0%. Proposers must comply with all applicable state and federal requirements, including New York State standard contract clauses, federal procurement regulations, civil rights requirements, and must submit multiple compliance certifications including the LL52-2012 Disqualification of Non-responsible Bidders form, Suffolk County Form 22 Public Disclosure Statement, Non-Collusive Offer Certification, Lawful Hiring Form, Living Wage Form, Union Organizing Certification, and Lobbying Certification Form. Contractors must maintain Commercial General Liability insurance of not less than $2,000,000 per occurrence, Professional Liability insurance of $2,000,000, and Workers' Compensation insurance in compliance with New York State law. The Living Wage Law applies to service contracts valued at $10,000 or more with ten or more employees, requiring a minimum hourly wage of $17.86 with health benefits or $18.02 without benefits. Entities convicted within ten years of crimes including fraud, bribery, collusive bidding, or environmental violations are automatically disqualified, and failure to file required certifications constitutes material breach of contract, subjecting non-compliant bidders to damages of fifteen percent of the contract amount.