DOT/RSPA/VOLPE National Transportation Systems Center, 55 Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA 02142

B -- EVALUATION OF AN EXISTING BUS TESTING PROGRAM SOL DTRS57-98-Q-80061 DUE 020998 POC Karen Marino, DTS-853, (617) 494-2437 WEB: Volpe Center Current Procurement Information, http://www.volpe.gov/procure/current.html. E-MAIL: Click here to contact the Purchasing Agent, marino@volpe1.dot.gov. The Volpe Center plans to solicit a sole source simplified acquisition from Technology and Management Systems, Inc., Burlington, MA, to evaluate an existing bus testing program and to report to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on the effectiveness of it. During a rigorous testing program at the Bus Testing and Research Center (BTRC), some buses experienced breakage of parts, components or structural members. The FTA makes decisions based on sound technical evaluations, but there are no studies conducted that determine if buses allowed to simply continue testing have experienced failures in revenue service at transit authorities. For this reason the Volpe Center will undertake a management oversight study of the entire bus testing program. The Contractor will be required to obtain all the existing bus testing reports and compile information from the reports into categories and to identify failures that will be followed up with site visits to transit authorities to determine if corrective actionshave resulted in the reduction or elimination of recurrence of these failures in the field. Small Business firms classified under SIC Code 8731 that are interested in proposing on this requirement must demonstrate in writing, no later than fifteen days from the date of this notice, that they had some involvement in the development of the four sets of "Design Guidelines for Bus Transit Systems Using Alternate Fuels" for different fuels. Small Business Firms will be REQUIRED to submit documentation in support of the above for evaluation by the government prior to receiving a quotation. A single award will result from this solicitation. No telephone requests will be accepted -- only written requests for this solicitation will be accepted -- however, we will accept requests for this solicitation via facsimile, at (617) 494-3649, ATTN: Karen Marino, DTS-853. (0023)

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