Extra Curricular Transportation Services for San Marcos USD

The San Marcos Unified School District (SMUSD) invites interested organizations and qualified entities to submit proposals for 2026-18, Extra Curricular Transportation Services for San Marcos USD. This solicitation is for the 2026-2027.

The District is issuing this solicitation to establish contracts with one or more qualified, licensed, and privately owned transportation carriers to provide supplemental student extracurricular transportation services on an as-needed basis. The primary objective of this contract is to augment the District's internal transportation fleet and personnel. The District reserves the right to award multiple contracts to ensure adequate vehicle availability, competitive pricing, and coverage across all required trip types and destinations. The successful Contractor(s) shall provide safe, reliable, and compliant passenger transportation services, including vehicles, qualified drivers, fuel, toll management, maintenance, and administrative support for the following categories: Local & Extracurricular Travel and/or Annual Out-of-State Travel.

Per Trip Rate prices provided by bidder on bid form in bid submission must include ALL costs and be the only cost due the contractor by the District for each trip ordered. Trip duration will include start from and return to the appropriate School Site or District-designated location only. [...] The District will pay **$90 per hour** per bus that exceeds the contracted trip duration unless the delay is caused by the Contractor, Contractor's employees or equipment.

The District expects that all bidders, by the act of their bidding, own or lease the equipment that will be provided to transport pupils and that all drivers will be employees (not subcontractor's) of the bidding company. Bidders may NOT subcontract out any portion of the work to be provided under this contract.

All drivers are to be fully certified school bus or SPAB operators with the necessary license and credentials. [...] All buses being used under this bid are to be certified school or SPAB buses. All school buses must be manufactured after April 1, 1977.

Bid proposals must be submitted to the Purchasing Department via the district's eProcurement Portal. All bids must be received on or prior to **4:00 pm on Monday, November 16, 2026**. **Only electronic bid submittals will be accepted.** Hard copies will be returned.

Questions are due by **2:00 pm on Monday, November 2, 2026** via the district's eProcurement Portal.

Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Pricing: **50%**
• References: **40%**. Successful proposer will provide at least five(5) school districts as a reference, and list the types of services they provided to said districts.
• Location: **10%**. Vendor should be located within 30 miles of the district.

The term of the contract will be as follows:

1. Initial term: Jan 1, 2027 - Dec 31, 2027
2. Renewal Option 1: Jan 1, 2028 - Dec 31 2028
3. Renewal Option 2: January 1, 2029 - December 31, 2029
4. Renewal Option 3: January 1, 2030 - December 31, 2030
5. Renewal Option 4: January 1, 2031 - December 31, 2031

Bid proposals may not be withdrawn for a period of Forty Five (45) days after the opening of bids.

The successful vendor shall be required to file proof of insurance with the District prior to receiving authorization to proceed on a contract, including Commercial General Liability with limits no less than **$5,000,000** per occurrence.

Bidder must submit at the time of bid submittal the *CHP 343D Carrier Exception Report Rating Form*. *Certification of Criminal Records Form* is required to be signed and submitted with all required documents at the time of bid submission.