As used on this webpage, "Bid" means a quote, bid, proposal, offer, or statement of qualifications in response to a solicitation, and "Bidder" means a bidder, proposer, offeror, or submitter of qualifications to a solicitation prior to contract award.
The regulations governing Pace's purchases and sales transactions provide that, with few exceptions, all purchase orders or contracts for the acquisition of goods, services, materials, supplies, equipment, and/or products (including rolling stock and excluding professional services for architectural and engineering or related services directly leading to construction, alteration, or repair of real property) involving a cost of more than $350,000 or construction-related services involving a cost of more than $40,000 must be accomplished by free and open bidding via the Invitation for Bid (IFB) or Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
The regulations also provide for alternative procurement processes:
1. The Request for Quote process is used when the purchase orders or contracts involve a cost of $350,000 or less.
2. The Request for Qualifications process is used when the purchase orders or contracts, including design-build contracts, involve the acquisition of architectural and engineering or related services that directly lead to the construction, alteration, or repair of real property.
3. Every contract that is deemed a sole source (i.e., contracts, which, by their nature, are inconsistent with competitive bidding, such as utility services, real estate, or proprietary information technology) may be awarded directly without competitive bidding by Pace's Chief Procurement Officer if the contract is at or below $150,000 or after approval by Pace's Board of Directors if the contract is over $150,000.
Formal Advertising
Pace publishes a notice of each of its IFB or RFP solicitations in an English language daily newspaper of general circulation, currently the Chicago Tribune.
Notice of the IFB or RFP is also posted on the Active Solicitations page of the Pace website.
Submitting Bids
For each solicitation, Pace will provide Bidders with the solicitation instructions and rules and the Bid submission requirements, including the date and time when Bids are due. Pace requires Bids to be submitted electronically.
Public openings of Bids for IFB solicitations will be conducted via Teams.
Pace iSupplier Portal
Request for Quote solicitations are conducted via the Pace iSupplier Portal.
Rejection of Bids
Pace, in its sole discretion, may reject, in whole or part, any or all Bids.
Contractor's Responsibility Record
A contractor whose performance on a Pace contract is unsatisfactory may be debarred from future business with Pace.
Sales and Disposal of Pace Property
All sales and disposal of Pace property, excluding real property, must be accomplished by free and open bidding unless, as determined by Pace's Chief Procurement Officer, the property is deemed to be of scrap value. The posting of Pace property on any publicly available auction website will satisfy this public bidding requirement.
All property that Pace offers for sale is "as is, where is, and with all faults." Bidders are encouraged to inspect such property prior to bidding. The location and hours of inspection will be specified in each solicitation.
Doing Business with CTA, Metra, and RTA
If you are interested in bidding on CTA, Metra and/or RTA contracts, click the links below to visit each agency's website. Each agency has it own Procurement site and procedures.