Request for Student Transportation Services

As the agency published it

Town of Berlin - Board of Education has issued request for proposal, solicitation 2027-14.

The Berlin Public Schools is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to secure a qualified transportation vendor to provide comprehensive, safe, and reliable student transportation services for the district. The scope of work encompasses daily home-to-school and school-to-home bus transportation for K–12 public school students, in-district non-public school students (such as St. Paul School), and eligible regional technical and vocational-agricultural school students. Additionally, the selected contractor will provide specialized transportation services for students with individualized education programs (IEPs) through Pupil Personnel Services, out-of-district placements, late-bus routes, and charter transportation for athletic events and field trips. All operations must strictly adhere to Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles regulations, State Department of Education safety standards, and Berlin Board of Education policies. Proposals must demonstrate contractor capacity, operational qualifications, and financial stability to manage a full-service school transportation contract. Requirements for the awarded vendor include providing a modern, well-maintained vehicle fleet equipped with essential safety technologies—such as GPS tracking, two-way radio communication, digital video surveillance, and automated stop-arm enforcement equipment—alongside route optimization and dispatch management. Responding contractors must detail driver recruitment, background vetting, and ongoing safety training programs, as well as local administrative oversight to manage daily operations and customer service. Bidders are expected to present transparent, multi-year pricing structures detailing daily per-bus operational rates, fuel adjustment mechanisms, and hourly rates for athletic and extracurricular charters.

Located in central Connecticut approximately 13 miles south of Hartford, Berlin Public Schools is a suburban school district serving roughly 2,600 pre-K through 12th-grade students. The district operates five public schools—three elementary schools (Mary E. Griswold School, Richard D. Hubbard School, and Emma Hart Willard School), Catherine M. McGee Middle School, and Berlin High School, alongside specialized programming through the Berlin Transition Academy. Guided by its core values of purpose, passion, and pride, Berlin Public Schools is committed to delivering strong academic outcomes, maintaining safe and inclusive learning environments, and fostering collaborative relationships across the community.

Responses are due November 25, 2026 at 12:00 PM EST.

Questions must be submitted by November 9, 2026 at 4:00 PM EST.

A non-mandatory pre-proposal conference is scheduled for November 4, 2026 at 12:00 PM EST at Berlin Board of Education, 238 Kensington Road, Berlin, CT.

Commodity categories: Bus Transportation Services, School.

Contact: Ashley Dorsey, Director of Finance and Operations (adorsey@berlinschools.org, (860) 828-5738).

4 documents are attached to the notice: Appendix A Non Discrimination; Appendix B Non-Collusion Statement; Transportation Policy; Schedule I Transportation Agreement.

The full solicitation document, addenda and the question-and-answer thread are on the agency's OpenGov portal at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/berlinct/projects/318321. Responses are submitted electronically there, and a free vendor account is required before you can upload one.

Reproduced from the official notice via OpenGov Procurement - Connecticut. The agency's page is the one that counts.