Accessible and Autonomous Mobility Services

The City of Detroit Office of Contracting and Procurement, on behalf of the Office of Mobility Innovation and the Department of Transportation, is soliciting proposals for the Accessibili-D 2.0 initiative. This project seeks a qualified vendor to implement a phased, on-demand, accessible mobility service designed to support older adults, people with disabilities, veterans, and survivors of gun violence. The contract follows a three-phase progression: Phase 1 involves an interim manually operated service using human drivers; Phase 2 transitions to a hybrid model incorporating SAE Level 3 autonomous vehicles and high-definition mapping; and Phase 3 scales to majority autonomous operations with at least two autonomous shuttles across the entire service area. The contract term is expected to be five years upon approval by the Detroit City Council, with Phase 1 deployment required within 90 days of contract approval. Proposals are evaluated through a 100-point system where technical proposals are reviewed before cost proposals. Evaluation criteria include organizational experience in autonomous and ADA-compliant transportation (30 points), the proposed technical approach and safety planning (25 points), the quality and reliability of vehicles and equipment (25 points), and overall pricing (20 points). Selected vendors must adhere to strict operational standards, including daily vehicle inspections, driver certifications in sensitivity and passenger assistance, and compliance with federal mandates such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Buy America requirements for procurements over $150,000, and MDOT professional service regulations. All invoicing must be processed through the City of Detroit Oracle Vendor Portal with standard NET 30 terms. Proposals must be submitted via the EUNA Bonfire portal no later than September 18, 2026, at 2:00 PM EST.