THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any supplies or services whatsoever. The U. S. Coast Guard (USCG) is not, at this time, seeking proposals nor will it accept unsolicited proposals. All who respond are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the Interested Party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if one is released. The DHS Acquisition Planning Forecast System (APFS) number for this requirement is: F2020048854. The APFS portal can be accessed at https://apfs.dhs.gov/ The USCG is conducting market research in anticipation of a future requirement. The USCG is seeking to ascertain if there are firms available who are capable of a providing bus transportation services for the Coast Guard Academy athletic program. Ground transportation services includes, a driver and bus transportation services to and from away sporting events and offsite practice locations. The athletic conference contains schools in the New England area so most of the trips are within 2-3 hours of the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT and within the same day. There are however, multi day trips as well as trips outside the New England area. Transportation needs will vary depending on the size of the team involved. Teams are broken down into three classifications. Large teams – bus must be capable of carrying a minimum of 54 passengers (e.g. – football, swimming, track, rowing, and men’s lacrosse). Medium size teams – bus must be able to carry a minimum of 32 passengers (e.g. – Softball, women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball). Small teams – bus must be able to carry a minimum of 22 passengers (e.g. – tennis, partial teams, pistol and rifle) See attachment 1 for an example of requested transportation services for the 2018-2019 athletic year. This is only an example and actual transportation requests would occur quarterly with possible cancellations and additions due to weather or end of season playoffs. Vendors who are interested in responding to this RFI should provide a written statement describing their capability and approach in providing bus transportation services to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. This statement should include at a minimum the following: 1. Name of firm; 2. Business Location(s); 3. Business size (i.e. small, large etc.); 4. Business Type/Socio-Economic Category, if applicable (i.e. Woman Owned, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses, Veteran Owned Small Businesses, and etc.); 5. NAICS; 6. Available bus sizes/types 7. Customary pricing/invoicing practice. (Voluntary) 8. Minimum and maximum service level (i.e. up to five round trips per day), minimum request time to schedule/cancel a ride (i.e. minimum 1 hour notice for all requests/24 hour advance notice in the event of a cancelation). (Voluntary) All responses consisting of the "Capabilities Statement" in response to this RFI notice, must be received via email at
[email protected]. ALL RESPONSES MUST BE SENT IN “PDF FORMAT” AND THE TOTAL SIZE OF ALL ATTACHMENTS MUST NOT EXCEED 10MB. ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST REFERENCE (CGA BUS SERVICE) IN THE SUBJECT LINE. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. NO telephone, mailed, faxed or oral responses will be accepted. Those who respond to this Notice will be notified whether their written "Capabilities Statement," as verified by the USCG, is responsive to this Notice. If it is determined to be in the best interest of the Government, interested and qualified sources responding to this Notice may be requested to provide follow-up information. A determination to compete or not to compete in a future procurement will be based on the responses to this RFI notice, and is solely within the discretion of the Government. This Notice is not a RFP, IFB, or RFQ.