Private Transportation Services for Students

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
Edgecombe County Public Schools
Request for Proposal #:
180-06242026
Private Transportation Services for Homeless, Special Needs and Pre-K Students
Date of Issue: 6/24/2026
Proposal Opening Date: 7/8/2026
At 2:00 pm ET
Direct all inquiries concerning this RFP to:
Jackie Farmer
Purchasing Specialist
Email: jfarmer@ecps.us
Phone: 252-641-2607
1

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
Request for Proposal #
180-06242026
_____________________________________________________
For internal State agency processing, including tabulation of proposals in the Interactive Purchasing
System (IPS), please provide your company's Federal Employer Identification Number or alternate
identification number (e.g. Social Security Number). Pursuant to G.S. 132-1.10(b) this identification
number shall not be released to the public. This page will be removed and shredded, or otherwise
kept confidential, before the procurement file is made available for public inspection.
This page is to be filled out and returned with your proposal.
Failure to do so may subject your proposal to rejection.
ID Number:
______________________________________________________
Federal ID Number or Social Security Number
___________________________________________________
Vendor Name
Sealed, mailed responses ONLY will be accepted for this solicitation.
2

EXECUTION
Refer ALL Inquiries regarding this RFP to: Request for Proposal # 180-06242026
Jackie Farmer
Proposals will be publicly opened: 07/08/2026 at 2:00 pm ET
2311 N Main Street
Tarboro, NC 27886
Contract Type: Services
In compliance with this Request for Proposals (RFP), and subject to all the conditions herein, the undersigned Vendor offers and
agrees to furnish and deliver any or all items upon which prices are bid, at the prices set opposite each item within the time
specified herein. By executing this proposal, the undersigned Vendor certifies that this proposal is submitted competitively and
without collusion (G.S. 143-54), that none of its officers, directors, or owners of an unincorporated business entity has been
convicted of any violations of Chapter 78A of the General Statutes, the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (G.S. 143-59.2), and that it is not an ineligible Vendor as set forth in G.S. 143-59.1. False certification is a Class I felony.
Furthermore, by executing this proposal, the undersigned certifies to the best of Vendor's knowledge and belief, that it and its
principals are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible or voluntarily excluded from
covered transactions by any Federal or State department or agency. As required by G.S. 143-48.5, the undersigned Vendor
certifies that it, and each of its sub-Contractors for any Contract awarded as a result of this RFP, complies with the requirements
of Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the NC General Statutes, including the requirement for each employer with more than 25 employees
in North Carolina to verify the work authorization of its employees through the federal E-Verify system. G.S. 133-32 and
Executive Order 24 (2009) prohibit the offer to, or acceptance by, any State Employee associated with the preparing plans,
specifications, estimates for public Contract; or awarding or administering public Contracts; or inspecting or supervising delivery
of the public Contract of any gift from anyone with a Contract with the State, or from any person seeking to do business with the
State. By execution of this response to the RFP, the undersigned certifies, for your entire organization and its employees or
agents, that you are not aware that any such gift has been offered, accepted, or promised by any employees of your
organization.
Failure to execute/sign proposal prior to submittal shall render proposal invalid and it WILL BE REJECTED.
Late proposals cannot be accepted.
COMPLETE/FORMAL NAME OF VENDOR:
STREET ADDRESS: P.O. BOX: ZIP:
CITY & STATE & ZIP: TELEPHONE NUMBER: TOLL FREE TEL. NO:
PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS ADDRESS IF DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE (SEE INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS ITEM #12):
PRINT NAME & TITLE OF PERSON SIGNING ON BEHALF OF VENDOR: FAX NUMBER:
VENDOR'S AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE*: DATE: EMAIL:
Sealed, mailed responses ONLY will be accepted for this solicitation.
Offer valid for at least 60 days from date of proposal opening, unless otherwise stated here: ______ days. After this time, any
withdrawal of offer shall be made in writing, effective upon receipt by the agency issuing this RFP.
ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSAL
If any or all parts of this proposal are accepted by the State of North Carolina, an authorized representative of the Edgecombe
County Public Schools shall affix his/her signature hereto and this document and all provisions of this Request for Proposal
along with the Vendor proposal response and the written results of any negotiations shall then constitute the written agreement
between the parties. A copy of this acceptance will be forwarded to the successful Vendor(s).
FOR STATE USE ONLY: Offer accept and Contract awarded this________ day of __________, 20____, as indicated on the
attached certification, by ____________________________________________________________________
(Authorized Representative of Edgecombe County Public Schools)
3

Proposal Number: 180-06242026 Vendor: __________________________________________
Contents
1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND 6
2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION 6
2.1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT 6
2.2 RESERVED E-PROCUREMENT SOLICITATION 6
2.3 NOTICE TO VENDORS REGARDING RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS 6
2.4 RFP SCHEDULE 7
2.5 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS 7
2.6 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL 7
2.7 PROPOSAL CONTENTS 8
2.8 ALTERNATE PROPOSALS 8
2.9 DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS, AND ABBREVIATIONS 9
3.0 METHOD OF AWARD AND PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS 9
3.1 METHOD OF AWARD 9
3.2 CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROHIBITED COMMUNICATIONS DURING EVALUATION 10
3.3 PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS 11
3.4 EVALUATION CRITERIA 12
3.5 PERFORMANCE OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES 12
3.6 INTERPRETATION OF TERMS AND PHRASES 12
4.0 REQUIREMENTS 13
4.1 CONTRACT TERM 13
4.2 PRICING 13
4.3 INVOICES 13
4.4 FINANCIAL STABILITY 13
4.5 REFERENCES 13
4.6 BACKGROUND CHECKS 14
4.7 PERSONNEL 14
4.8 VENDOR'S REPRESENTATIONS 14
5.0 SCOPE OF WORK 15
5.1 GENERAL 15
5.2 WARRANTIES 17
ATTACHMENT A: Proposal Submission Requirements/Pricing 18
4

Proposal Number: 180-06242026 Vendor: __________________________________________
ATTACHMENT B: INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS 19
ATTACHMENT C: NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL CONTRACT TERMS & CONDITIONS 22
ATTACHMENT D: LOCATION OF WORKERS UTILIZED BY VENDOR 28
ATTACHMENT E: CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION 29
ATTACHMENT F: SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION 30
5

Proposal Number: 180-06242026 Vendor: __________________________________________
1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND
Proposals shall be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of this RFP and any addenda issued
hereto.
Purpose:
You are invited to submit a proposal for providing private transportation service to transport special needs, displaced or
homeless students and Pre-K students to and from designated locations. The selected contractor will ensure safety,
reliability, and compliance with all federal, state, and local transportation regulations.
Background:
The Edgecombe County Public Schools District provides private transportation to meet the needs of all students.
2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION
2.1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
The RFP is comprised of the base RFP document, any attachments, and any addenda released before Contract
award. All attachments and addenda released for this RFP in advance of any Contract award are incorporated herein
by reference.
2.2 RESERVED E-PROCUREMENT SOLICITATION
ATTENTION: This is NOT an E-Procurement solicitation. Paragraph #16 of Attachment C: North Carolina
General Contract Terms and Conditions, paragraphs (b) and (c), do not apply to this solicitation.
2.3 NOTICE TO VENDORS REGARDING RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS
It shall be the Vendor's responsibility to read the Instructions, the State's terms and conditions, all relevant exhibits and
attachments, and any other components made a part of this RFP and comply with all requirements and specifications
herein. Vendors also are responsible for obtaining and complying with all Addenda and other changes that may be
issued in connection with this RFP.
If Vendors have questions, issues, or exceptions regarding any term, condition, or other component within this RFP,
those must be submitted as questions in accordance with the instructions in Section 2.5 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS. If
the State determines that any changes will be made as a result of the questions asked, then such decisions will be
communicated in the form of an RFP addendum. The State may also elect to leave open the possibility for later
negotiation and amendment of specific provisions of the Contract that have been addressed during the question and
answer period. Other than through this process, the State rejects and will not be required to evaluate or consider any
additional or modified terms and conditions submitted with Vendor's proposal. This applies to any language appearing
in or attached to the document as part of the Vendor's proposal that purports to vary any terms and conditions or
Vendors' instructions herein or to render the proposal non-binding or subject to further negotiation. Vendor's proposal
shall constitute a firm offer. By execution and delivery of this RFP Response, the Vendor agrees that any
additional or modified terms and conditions, whether submitted purposely or inadvertently, shall have no
force or effect, and will be disregarded. Noncompliance with, or any attempt to alter or delete, this paragraph
shall constitute sufficient grounds to reject Vendor's proposal as nonresponsive.
Contact with anyone working for or with the State regarding this RFP other than the State Contract Specialist named
on the face page of this RFP in the manner specified by this RFP shall constitute grounds for rejection of said Vendor's
offer, at the State's election.
6

Proposal Number: 180-06242026 Vendor: __________________________________________
2.4 RFP SCHEDULE
The table below shows the intended schedule for this RFP. The State will make every effort to adhere to this schedule.
Event Responsibility Date and Time
Issue RFP State 06/24/2026 5:00 pm ET
Submit Written Questions Vendor 07/01/2026 12:00 pm ET
Provide Response to Questions State 07/02/2024 5:00 pm ET
Submit Proposals Vendor 07/08/2025 2:00 pm ET
2.5 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS
Upon review of the RFP documents, Vendors may have questions to clarify or interpret the RFP in order to submit the
best proposal possible. To accommodate the Proposal Questions process, Vendors shall submit any such questions
by the above due date.
Written questions shall be emailed to jfarmer@ecps.us by the date and time specified above. Vendors should enter
"RFP # 180-06242026 Questions" as the subject for the email. Questions submittals should include a reference to the
applicable RFP section and be submitted in a format shown below:
Reference Vendor Question
RFP Section, Page Number Vendor question ...?
Questions received prior to the submission deadline date, the State's response, and any additional terms deemed
necessary by the State will be posted in the form of an addendum to the Interactive Purchasing System (IPS),
http://www.ips.state.nc.us, and shall become an Addendum to this RFP. No information, instruction or advice provided
orally or informally by any State personnel, whether made in response to a question or otherwise in
connection with this RFP, shall be considered authoritative or binding. Vendors shall rely only on written material
contained in an Addendum to this RFP.
2.6 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL
IMPORTANT NOTE:. This is an absolute requirement. Vendor shall bear the risk for late submission due to
unintended or unanticipated delay-whether submitted electronically, delivered by hand, U.S. Postal Service, courier or
other delivery service. It is the Vendor's sole responsibility to ensure its proposal has been submitted to this Office by
the specified time and date of opening. The time and date of submission will be marked on each proposal when
received. Any proposal submitted after the proposal deadline will be rejected.
By Mail
Mailing address for delivery of proposal Office Address of delivery by any other method
via US Postal Service (special delivery, overnight, or any other carrier).
PROPOSAL NUMBER: 180-06242026 PROPOSAL NUMBER: 180-06242026
Edgecombe County Public Schools Edgecombe County Public Schools
Jackie Farmer Jackie Farmer
Post Office Box 7128 2311 N Main Street
Tarboro, NC 27886 Tarboro, NC 27886
For proposals submitted via U.S. mail, please note that the U.S. Postal Service generally does not deliver mail to a
specified street address but to the State's Mail Service Center. Vendors are cautioned that proposals sent via U.S.
Mail, including Express Mail, may not be delivered by the Mail Service Center to the agency's purchasing office on the
7

Proposal Number: 180-06242026 Vendor: __________________________________________
due date in time to meet the proposal deadline. All Vendors are urged to take the possibility of delay into account when
submitting a proposal by U.S. Postal Service, courier, or other delivery service. Attempts to submit a proposal via
facsimile (FAX) machine, telephone or email in response to this RFP shall NOT be accepted.
a) Submit one (1) signed, original executed proposal responses, of your proposal simultaneously to the address
identified in the table above.
b) Submit your proposal in a sealed package. Clearly mark the package with: (1) Vendor name; (2) the RFP number;
and (3) the due date. Address the package(s) for delivery as shown in the table above. If Vendor is submitting
more than one (1) proposal, each proposal shall be submitted in separate sealed envelopes and marked
accordingly. For delivery purposes, separate sealed envelopes from a single Vendor may be included in the same
outer package. Proposals are subject to rejection unless submitted with the information above included on the
outside of the sealed proposal package.
Failure to submit a proposal in strict accordance with these instructions shall constitute sufficient cause to reject a
vendor's proposal(s).
Critical updated information may be included in Addenda to this RFP. It is important that all Vendors proposing on this
RFP periodically check the State's IPS website for any Addenda that may be issued prior to the bid opening date. All
Vendors shall be deemed to have read and understood all information in this RFP and all Addenda thereto.
Contact with anyone working for or with the State regarding this RFP other than the State Contract Lead named on the
face page of this RFP in the manner specified by this RFP shall constitute grounds for rejection of said Vendor's offer,
at the State's election.
2.7 PROPOSAL CONTENTS
Vendors shall populate all attachments of this RFP that require the Vendor to provide information and include an
authorized signature where requested. Vendor RFP responses shall include the following items and those attachments
should be arranged in the following order:
a) Cover Letter
b) Title Page: Include the company name, address, phone number and authorized representative along with the
Proposal Number.
c) Completed and signed version of EXECUTION PAGES, along with the body of the RFP and signed receipt pages
of any addenda released in conjunction with this RFP (if required to be returned).
d) Completed version of ATTACHMENT A: Proposal Submission Requirements/Pricing
e) ATTACHMENT B: INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS
f) ATTACHMENT C: NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS
g) Completed and signed version of ATTACHMENT D: LOCATION OF WORKERS UTILIZED BY VENDOR
h) Completed and signed version of ATTACHMENT E: CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
i) Completed and signed version of ATTACHMENT F: SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION
2.8 ALTERNATE PROPOSALS
Vendor may submit alternate proposals for various methods or levels of service(s) or that propose different options.
Alternate proposals must specifically identify the RFP requirements and advantage(s) addressed by the alternate
proposal. Any alternate proposal, in addition to the marking described above, must be clearly marked with the legend:
"Alternate Proposal #___ [for 'name of Vendor"]. Each proposal must be for a specific set of Services and must
include specific pricing. If a Vendor chooses to respond with various service offerings, each must be offered with a
separate price and be contained in a separate proposal document. Each proposal must be complete and independent
of other proposals offered.
8

Proposal Number: 180-06242026 Vendor: __________________________________________
2.9 DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS, AND ABBREVIATIONS
a) BAFO: Best and Final Offer, submitted by a Vendor to alter its initial offer, made in response to a request by the
issuing agency.
b) BUYER: The employee of the State or Other Eligible Entity that places an order with the Vendor.
c) COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Any of the fifty-eight (58) public North Carolina Community Colleges.
d) CONTRACT LEAD: Representative of the Edgecombe County Public Schools who corresponds with potential
Vendors in order to identify and contract with that Vendor providing the greatest benefit to the State and who will
administer this contract for the State.
e) E-PROCUREMENT SERVICE(S): The program, system, and associated Services through which the State
conducts electronic procurement.
f) FOB-DESTINATION: Title changes hand from Vendor to purchaser at the destination point of the shipment;
Vendor owns commodity in transit and files any claims, and Vendor pays all freight and any related transportation
charges. A solicitation may request Vendors to separately identify freight charges in their proposal, but no amount
or charge not included as part of the total proposal price will be paid.
g) LOT: A grouping of similar products within this RFP.
h) NC BIDS: The North Carolina Business Invitation Delivery System provides vendors the opportunity to submit bid
responses electronically.
i) ON-TIME DELIVERY: The delivery of all items within a single order to the receiving point designated by the
ordering entity within the delivery time required.
j) QUALIFIED PROPOSAL: A responsive proposal submitted by a responsible Vendor.
k) RFP: Request for Proposal
l) SERVICES or SERVICE DELIVERABLES: The tasks and duties undertaken by the Vendor to fulfill the
requirements and specifications of this solicitation.
m) STATE: The State of North Carolina, including any of its sub-units recognized under North Carolina law.
n) STATE AGENCY: Any of the more than 400 sub-units within the executive branch of the State, including its
departments, boards, commissions, institutions of higher education and other institutions.
o) VENDOR: Supplier, bidder, proposer, company, firm, corporation, partnership, individual or other entity submitting
a response to a Request for Proposal.
3.0 METHOD OF AWARD AND PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS
3.1 METHOD OF AWARD
Contracts will be awarded in accordance with G.S. 143-52 and the evaluation criteria set out in this solicitation.
Prospective Vendors shall not be discriminated against on the basis of any prohibited grounds as defined by
Federal and State law.
All qualified proposals will be evaluated, and awards will be made to the Vendor(s) meeting the RFP requirements and
achieving the highest and best final evaluation, based on the criteria described below.
9

Proposal Number: 180-06242026 Vendor: __________________________________________
Points Ranking:
Points Points
Factor Available Factor Available
Cost effectiveness Safety and training programs.
50 10
Ability to meet service and compliance
requirements References and past performance.
20 10
Experience and qualifications.
10
While the intent of this RFP is to award a Contract(s) to a single Vendor, the State reserves the right to make separate
awards to different Vendors for one or more line items, to not award one or more line items or to cancel this RFP in its
entirety without awarding a Contract, if it is considered to be most advantageous to the State to do so.
The status of a Vendor's E-Procurement Services account(s) shall be considered a relevant factor in determining
whether to approve the award of a contract under this RFP. Any Vendor with an E-Procurement Services account that
is in arrears by 91 days or more at the time of proposal opening may, at the State's discretion, be disqualified from
further evaluation or consideration.
The State reserves the right to waive any minor informality or technicality in proposals received.
3.2 CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROHIBITED COMMUNICATIONS DURING EVALUATION
During the evaluation period-from the date proposals are opened through the date the contract is awarded-each
Vendor submitting a proposal (including its representatives, sub-contractors and/or suppliers) is prohibited from having
any communications with any person inside or outside the using agency, issuing agency, other government agency
office, or body (including the purchaser named above, department secretary, agency head, members of the general
assembly and/or governor's office), or private entity, if the communication refers to the content of Vendor's proposal or
qualifications, the contents of another Vendor's proposal, another Vendor's qualifications or ability to perform the
contract, and/or the transmittal of any other communication of information that could be reasonably considered to have
the effect of directly or indirectly influencing the evaluation of proposals and/or the award of the contract. A Vendor not
in compliance with this provision shall be disqualified from contract award, unless it is determined in the State's
discretion that the communication was harmless, that it was made without intent to influence and that the best interest
of the State would not be served by the disqualification. A Vendor's proposal may be disqualified if its sub-contractor
and supplier engage in any of the foregoing communications during the time that the procurement is active (i.e., the
issuance date of the procurement to the date of contract award). Only those discussions, communications or
transmittals of information authorized or initiated by the issuing agency for this RFP or general inquiries directed to the
purchaser regarding requirements of the RFP (prior to proposal submission) or the status of the contract award (after
submission) are excepted from this provision.
10