a p t a bus procurement guidelines2011（p t公车采购guidelines2011）.doc

American Public Transportation Association 1666 K Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20006-1215published: October, 2010 Standard Bus Procurement Guidelines RFP Abstract: This document outlines a request for proposals for a negotiated bus procurement contract. A request for proposals is generally used when the scope of Work or specification is less well-defined. In addition, this type of procurement may be used in cases where the vehicle involves “emerging” technology or there is a requirement to discuss warranty provisions or design considerations. This document was developed using a cross-section of representatives from the public and private sectors of the public transit industry for use by transit agencies. Keywords: bus, request for proposals (RFP) Overview: Many industries have standard forms of contracts for the acquisition of goods and services. Buyers and sellers in those industries become familiar and comfortable with those forms. The goal of creating a common method of contracting enables participants to focus, when necessary, on negotiating only those issues for which a departure from the accepted norm is necessary or desirable. This approach will save considerable time and effort for the parties to a particular transaction. It also permits new provisions or evolving best practices to be incorporated into the standard Contract for that industry efficiently and in a manner designed to benefit the entire industry. Finally, standardization leads to a consistency of interpretation that presumably should reduce the number of Contract disputes and result in better prices for both the public and private sectors. How This Document is Organized The outline has been created to facilitate the development of a bus package that is consistent throughout the industry, providing a uniform format for numbering and organizing such documents. The use of standard formats for commonly used procurement contracts will improve the ability of industry participants to prepare con