PIEDMONT AUTHORITY FOR REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION Request for Proposal (RFP) 30, 35 & 40 FOOT LOW FLOOR, Diesel and Hybrid Diesel RFP’s must be received at PART by 4:00p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Friday, March 27, 2020. Submittals must be in a sealed envelope, marked with the name and address of the offeror, the due date, and RFP# 2020HDB-NC, and addressed to: Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation 107 Arrow Rd. Greensboro, NC 27409 Attention: Supriya Raghav, Regulatory Affairs Specialist Low Floor Bus Procurement RFP#2020HDB-NC POLICY STATEMENT: The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation, in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4 and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, Subtitle A, Office of the Secretary, Part 21, Nondiscrimination in Federally-Assisted Programs of the Department of Transportation issued pursuant to such Act, hereby notifies all bidders/proposers that it will affirmatively insure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, minority business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to the invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award. GENERAL CONDITIONS STATEMENT: The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) reserves the right to reject all submis- sions, and to accept multiple submissions that are deemed beneficial to the participating transit agencies; with the requirements of each vendor submission meeting the rules and regulations of the Federal Transit Administration, and those identified within the RFP document. It is anticipated that multiple vendors may be awarded under this solicitation based on those sub- missions that are identified as being in a competitive range, and are both responsive and responsi- ble. This is a multi-agency consortium solicitation administered by the PART Agency, and includes the participation from the following NC Public Transit Systems: 1) Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) 2) Greensboro Transit Authority, City of Greensboro, NC 3) High Point Transit, City of High Point, NC 4) Concord Kannapolis Area Transit (CK Rider), City of Concord, NC 5) Fayetteville Area System Transit (FAST), City of Fayetteville, NC 6) AppalCART, Town of Boone, NC 7) Western Piedmont Regional Transit Authority (WPRTA), City of Hickory, NC 8) Goldsboro-Wayne Transportation Authority (GWTA), Goldsboro, NC Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE): All Proposers are hereby notified that the DBE requirements of 49 CFR Part 26 do apply to this So- licitation. The proposer, a Primary Transit Vehicle Manufacturer, hereby certifies that it has com- plied with the requirements of 49 CFR Section 26.49, as amended, by submitting an annual DBE goal, as amended, to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The goal has either been approved or not disapproved by the FTA. Contents Request for Proposal (RFP) ........................................................................................................................................ 1 SECTION 1: NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS .......................................................................................... 11 NR 1. Description of the Work to be Done ................................................................................................. 11 NR 2. Obtaining Proposal Documents ........................................................................................................ 11 NR 3. Proposal Due Date and Submittal Requirements ............................................................................. 11 NR 4. Validity of Proposals ........................................................................................................................ 11 NR 5. Pre-Proposal Meeting Information (Optional) ................................................................................. 11 SECTION 2: INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS ....................................................................................................... 13 IP 1. Quantities............................................................................................................................................ 13 IP 2. Proposed Schedule for the Procurement ............................................................................................. 13 IP 3. Obtaining Proposal Documents .......................................................................................................... 13 IP 4. Pre-Proposal Meeting/Information for Proposers............................................................................... 13 IP 5. Questions, Clarifications and Omissions ............................................................................................ 14 IP 6. Addenda to RFP ................................................................................................................................. 14 IP 7. DBE Requirements for Transit Vehicle Manufacturers ..................................................................... 15 IP 8. Buy America Certification ................................................................................................................. 15 IP 9. Conditions, Exceptions, Reservations or Understandings .................................................................. 16 IP 10. Protest Procedures ............................................................................................................................ 16 IP 10.1 Address .................................................................................................................................... 16 IP 10.2 Pre-Proposal Protests ............................................................................................................... 16 IP 10.3 Protests on the Recommended Award ..................................................................................... 17 IP 10.4 FTA Review ............................................................................................................................. 17 IP 11. Preparation of Proposals ................................................................................................................... 17 IP 11.1 Use of Proposal Forms ............................................................................................................. 17 IP 11.2 Proposal Format Requirements ................................................................................................ 17 IP 11.3 Agency Treatment of Proprietary/Confidential Information ................................................... 19 IP 11.4 Signing of Proposal Forms ....................................................................................................... 19 IP 11.5 Modification or Withdrawal of Proposals ................................................................................ 19 IP 11.6 Ownership and Cost of Proposal Development ....................................................................... 20 IP 12. Proposal Evaluation, Negotiation and Selection .............................................................................. 20 IP 12.1 Confidentiality of Proposals .................................................................................................... 20 IP 12.2 Duration of the Validity of Proposals ...................................................................................... 20 IP 12.3 Evaluation Committee ............................................................................................................. 20 IP 12.4 Review of Proposals for Responsiveness and Proposers for Responsibility ........................... 20 IP 12.5 Proposal Selection Process ...................................................................................................... 21 IP 12.6 Evaluation Procedures ............................................................................................................. 24 IP 12.7 Evaluations of Competitive Proposals ..................................................................................... 24 IP 13. Response to Proposals ...................................................................................................................... 25 IP 13.1 Single Proposal Response ........................................................................................................ 25 IP 13.2 Availability of Funds ............................................................................................................... 25 IP 13.3 Agency Contract Approval Process ......................................................................................... 26 IP 13.4 Agency Rights .......................................................................................................................... 26 IP 13.5 Execution of Contract .............................................................................................................. 26 IP 14. Conflicts of Interests and Gratuities ................................................................................................. 26 SECTION 3: GENERAL CONDITIONS ....................................................................................................................... 27 GC 1. Definitions ........................................................................................................................................ 27 GC 2. Materials and Workmanship............................................................................................................