School Bus Transportation Invitation for Bids

Background
The Northborough Public Schools, Southborough Public Schools, and Northborough-Southborough Regional School District are seeking bids for school bus transportation services beginning in the School Year 2025-2026. This contract aims to provide safe and efficient transportation for students to and from school, including regular school transportation, field trips, and extracurricular activities.

The Districts operate a hybrid three-tier transportation system and require a reliable contractor to fulfill these needs.

Work Details
The contractor will be responsible for providing thirty-two (32) buses daily for one hundred eighty (180) days. This includes thirty-one (31) buses that are seventy-one (71) or larger passenger buses and one (1) bus that accommodates thirty to thirty-five (30-35) passengers. The services include:
1. Regular school transportation for various tiers of schools including Algonquin Regional High School, Melican Middle School, Trottier Middle School, and several elementary schools across Northborough and Southborough.
2. Daily after-school late bus services for high school and middle school students.
3. Summer programming requiring five (5) buses for students residing in both towns.
4. Maintenance of all buses in good condition, including necessary fuel, oil, grease, tires, maintenance, and repairs at no additional cost to the Districts.
5. Provision of substitute drivers knowledgeable about the routes in case of regular driver absences.
6. Compliance with all safety regulations including installation of stop arms and flashing lights on buses.
7. Implementation of GPS tracking systems for real-time monitoring of bus locations.

Period of Performance
The contract will commence on July 1, 2025, and terminate on June 30, 2028, with two one-year options to renew.

Place of Performance
Transportation services will be provided within the geographic areas of Northborough and Southborough, Massachusetts.