Department of War Education Activity (DoWEA) - Sasebo Bus Drivers (Student Transportation Services)

1.    Purpose

Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10, the Department of War Education Activity (DoWEA) Procurement Office is currently conducting market research to identify companies capable of and qualified to provide school bus drivers in Sasebo, Japan. 

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for conducting market research and does not constitute a Request for Proposals (RFP), Invitation for Bids (IFB), Request for Quotations (RFQ), and does not obligate the Government to any current or future commitments. 

2.    Scope of Work (Draft)
DoWEA Pacific East requires school bus driver services for pre-K through grade 12 students authorized to utilize school bus transportation services to attend DoWEA Pacific East schools located within Sasebo Navy Base, Japan. The contractor shall provide all personnel, materials, supervision and other items and services necessary to safely transport students and other authorized individuals to and from their designated schools, to include services for Daily Commute, Special Needs, Special Needs Extended School Year, Curricular Study Trips, Co-Curricular and Long-haul/Overnight travel. The safety of the passengers is of highest priority in the performance of services.

Please see the attached draft copy of the PWS attached to this RFI for more information. Please note that the draft PWS is subject to change up until the solicitation is issued.

The period of performance for these services will begin on 01 August 2027. 

For purposes of this acquisition, the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code is 485410, School and Employee Bus Transportation, Size Standard, $30.0M. The Product Service Code (PSC) is V222, Transportation/Travel/Relocation/Travel/Lodging/Recruitment: Passenger Motor Charter.

3.    Requested Information

If your company is interested, capable, and qualified to provide these services, please submit the following:

a.    Statement of Interest
Please indicate your interest in participating in this potential requirement.

b.    Capability Statement (Maximum of 3 pages)
Please a brief description of your company’s qualifications, relevant experience, and technical capabilities to meet the draft scope of work. Include:

•    Company name, address, and point of contact
•    CAGE/NCAGE code and Unique Entity ID (UEI)
•    Business size and socio-economic status (e.g. small business, 8(a), HUBZone), if applicable
•    Relevant past performance examples
•    If you are unable to provide the full scope of services required in the PWS, please provide an explanation of why you are unable to provide the services (safely transport students and other authorized individuals to and from their designated schools, to include services for Daily Commute, Special Needs, Special Needs Extended School Year, Curricular Study Trips, Co-Curricular and Long-haul/Overnight travel)

c.    Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM)
Please submit a non-binding ROM cost estimate based on the draft scope. This estimate is for planning and informational purposes only and will not be considered a formal quote. Please provide:
1.     Attachment 2: CLIN/SLIN ROM to provide your non-binding ROM cost estimate.
2.    Price Breakdown (Vendor Cost Build-Up): To support Government market research and the establishment of an Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), responders are requested to provide their internal price build-up in the vendor’s own standard commercial format. The price breakdown should detail:
a.    Fully Burdened Labor Category Rates: Direct labor baseline, fringe benefits, overhead (OH), general and administrative (G&A) rates, and profit/fee wrap rates.
b.    Labor Hours by CLIN: Allocation of proposed labor hours across each CLIN/SLIN to justify deliverable pricing.
c.    Other Direct Costs (ODCs) & Travel: Breakdown of travel, sandbox infrastructure, tooling, and specialized third-party licenses needed to deliver the baseline scope.
d.    Key BOE Assumptions: Facility clearance assumptions, remote/on-site splits, Government Furnished Equipment/Information (GFE/GFI) expectations, and annual escalation factors.

4.    Submission Instructions
Submissions and inquiries pertaining to this RFI must be sent electronically to Dustin.Fazzini@dodea.edu and Joel.Brown@dodea.edu no later than 11:00am Japan Standard Time on 02 December 2026. Vendor’s email message shall state “HE125427RSASEBODRIVERS” in the subject line. Telephone calls regarding this RFI will not be accepted. 

5.    Disclaimer
This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. In accordance with FAR 15.101(c)(3), the Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of the RFI or otherwise pay for the information requested; and responses will be treated as information only and not as a proposal.

Note 1: Please note that vendors are required to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database at the time an offer/quotation/proposal is due to comply with the annual representations and certifications requirements.  Therefore, only businesses with an active SAM registration will be eligible to receive any resultant contract(s) with the Department of War Education Activity.  

Note 2: All Offerors will be required to submit proposals in response to the solicitation through the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) Solicitation Module. Instructions on how vendors can get set up in PIEE in preparation to respond to the solicitation is provided in Attachment 3.

Attachments
1.    Attachment 1 - Draft PWS
2.    Attachment 2 – CLIN/SLIN Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM)
3.    Attachment 3 – PIEE/Solicitation Module Instructions