Request for Proposals: ACT School Bus Deployment Technical Services

Through this solicitation, MassCEC is accepting applications for the position of one technical consultant, or a technical consultant team, to assist with the ACT School Bus Program and address the gap in technical knowledge impeding school bus fleets from electrifying. The technical consultant will support school districts that have been selected or are eligible for the U.S. EPA Clean School Bus and other federal funding opportunities, help MassCEC with the selection of deployment grantees, and help grantees with bus procurement, charging stations and infrastructure, and coordination with other project stakeholders.

Program Background

Under the ACT School Bus Program, MassCEC supports electric school bus deployment projects across Massachusetts by providing funding and technical assistance to school districts and transportation providers. In December 2022, MassCEC awarded funding and technical assistance to six public school districts across the Commonwealth under the first round of the ACT School Bus Fleet Deployment Program. These school districts are currently receiving technical assistance from a MassCEC-hired technical consultant team. In November 2023, MassCEC released an RFP for a second round of the ACT School Bus Fleet Deployment Program, incorporating learnings from the first round as the 2022 projects progress. The awardees from the second round of ACT School Bus will work with MassCEC’s current technical consultant team.   

In September 2023, the U.S. EPA released the Notice of Funding Opportunity for the 2023 EPA Clean School Bus Rebate. It is MassCEC’s intention to hire a technical consultant team to 1) provide deployment technical assistance to school districts that are eligible for the 2023 Clean School Bus Rebate, and 2) continue to provide technical assistance under ACT School Bus through future iterations of the ACT School Bus Grant Program.