Mike Trombino, Founder
A microtransit RFP should name who rides, who operates, and what the city still owns. Ask that before a proposal turns a guess into the scope.
Key takeaways
- Describe the trips and the zone before you describe a fleet.
- Allow three ways to work: operate it, power what the city already has, or improve a service that is running.
- Do not score a guessed ridership total, a promised wait, or a price borrowed from another city.
A microtransit RFP fails when it asks a proposer to invent the city. Staff already know the trips that matter: a shift change, a ride to a clinic, the gap between a bus that stops running and a neighborhood that does not. The document should describe those trips, the boundary around them, and the decisions the city will not hand away.
What belongs in a microtransit RFP before anyone proposes a fleet?
Name the rider first. A downtown circulator, a night connection to the last bus, and a weekday lift to a job center are different services. A document that says "on demand" and stops there will get three incompatible proposals and no way to tell them apart. Write the hours, the kind of trip, and the places that must be inside the zone. Write, just as clearly, the places that are outside it.
Then name what the city still owns. The name of the service, the zone, and the hours should stay civic even when a partner runs the day. Riders should see their city, not a vendor logo standing in for policy. City and downtown transportation is the Slidr page for this kind of service, and first and last mile service is the narrower case of closing the gap to a route you already fund.
Which operating model should a microtransit RFP allow?
Leave three doors open. The city may want one operator for vehicles, drivers, insurance, and the day. The city may already have vehicles and drivers and need them powered. Or a service may already be running and need help. A microtransit RFP that demands a brand-new fleet throws out the second and third doors before anyone has looked at them. How Slidr works with an existing program is the short version of those doors.
Ask who speaks to the rider when something goes wrong, and who is allowed to change the zone. A partner can run dispatch. The city should still be able to explain the service in its own words. If the document is silent on that, the proposal will fill the silence.
A request for proposals should describe the trips, not a fantasy fleet.
| Ask this | A useful answer | A weak answer |
|---|---|---|
| Who is the rider, and where does the zone end? | Named trips, hours, and a boundary | "Citywide on demand" |
| Who operates the day? | Operate, power what exists, or improve what is running | A single required fleet, no other door |
| What happens past the boundary? | A clear decline, a referral, or a planned exception | Silence, which becomes a promise later |
| How does a rider book without a smartphone? | Phone booking and help at the curb are in the scope | An app, and nothing else |
| What does the city still decide? | Name, zone, and hours stay with the city | The vendor's brand replaces the city's |
What should a microtransit RFP refuse to score?
Do not score a guessed ridership total. Do not score a promised wait. Do not score a price borrowed from another city with a different zone and a different day. Those figures look decisive in a matrix and they are not yet about your streets. Ask instead how a trip outside the zone is declined, how a rider books by phone, and how a person who uses a wheelchair reaches the curb and the seat.
Download the RFP question checklist when you want that list in front of procurement. The worksheet is not a file on this site yet, so the button opens the contact page. Bring the trips you can already describe. Leave the invented totals at the door.
When is a microtransit RFP ready to issue?
It is ready when a colleague who does not work in transit can point to the zone, the hours, and the person who owns a bad day. It is not ready when the only specific line in the document is a vehicle count. Fleet follows the trips. The trips do not follow the fleet. Use the contact page to walk the questions before the document goes out, while changing a sentence is still cheap.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a microtransit RFP for?
It tells proposers which trips the city wants covered, where the zone ends, who may operate the day, and which decisions stay with the city. It is a scope, not a brochure.
Does the city have to give up its own drivers and vehicles?
No. A fair document lets a proposer operate the whole service, power the vehicles and drivers the city already has, or help improve a program that is already running.
What should the city refuse to score?
A guessed ridership total, a promised wait, and a price copied from another city. Ask how a trip outside the zone is handled instead, and how a rider who does not use a phone still gets a seat.
Where do we start?
Download the RFP question checklist from the contact page. The worksheet is not a file on this site yet, so the button opens a scoping conversation about the zone, the hours, and what you already run.
Sources
- Slidr, city and downtown transportation, accessed November 2, 2026. https://www.rideslidr.com/solutions/downtown/
- Slidr, contact and scoping call, accessed November 2, 2026. https://www.rideslidr.com/contact/