Fact Sheet - Request for Standing Offer for Car Rentals

The Government of Canada (GC) is streamlining and transforming its procurement approach to provide better value for Canadian taxpayers. The goal of procurement transformation is to improve the design, management and delivery of procurement across government so that the government becomes not only a better buyer, but a better customer.

As part of this transformation, the government is inviting suppliers of car rental services to compete for standing offers. Once awarded, standing offers allow the government to call on pre-qualified suppliers if and when their services are needed, based on an agreed price.

The government will reach its goal in keeping with the following commitments:

• Ensuring increased transparency and accountability in the procurement process;
• Making it easier and less costly for suppliers to do business with government;
• Improving access for SMEs to compete for procurement;
• Considering economic and social impacts (Aboriginal, regional and environmental);
• Consulting with affected industry sectors.

What is the current situation for Car Rental Services?

Each year PWGSC solicits discounted, non-commissionable rates for the rental of passenger vehicles by government employees across Canada and the USA. These discounted rates are published in the Government of Canada Car Rental Directory. National Master Standing Offers (NMSOs) are usually issued to approximately 20 car rental companies with 700 locations across Canada and the USA.

What is changing?

This year, following with the Government of Canada’s Procurement Transformation initiative to consolidate government business volume and generate savings in select commodities, companies listed in the Car Rental Program will be solicited using two RFSOs.

The first RFSO will be aimed towards non-select markets, which will essentially be the traditional package that has been used in past years.

The second RFSO will be aimed towards select markets, comprised of 16 cities, where the plan is to consolidate car rental service requirements where Government of Canada usage is the highest.

The 16 cities are: Calgary, Deer Lake, Edmonton, Fredericton, Gloucester, Halifax, Kamloops, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, St. John’s, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Winnipeg. (at the exception of Gloucester, Ontario, which does not have a city airport of its own).

Additional changes include:

• Reduce and standardize the types of cars available to six instead of seven.
• Continue to promote companies that include hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles with low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Through it all, the department will continue to be guided by its commitment to fair, open and transparent procurement and the government’s promise to deliver value for Canadians.

How will these changes impact the industry?

There will be no impact to small and medium sized enterprises in non-select markets. In the select markets, all SMEs fulfilling the mandatory criteria laid out will have the same opportunities as non-SMEs.

The RFSO will offer a level playing field to both corporate and franchise owned locations of large rental agencies. Select markets likely to have both franchise and corporate car rental locations.

Suppliers in non-select markets will not be consolidated; ensuring small car rental agencies have an equal opportunity of business.

Most importantly, winning a GC standing offer in the select markets will most likely result in more business.

PWGSC is supporting Natural Resources Canada and Environment Canada’s environmental programs by publishing, in the preface to the directory, a paragraph encouraging employees to consider environmentally responsible practices when it comes to rental of vehicles to conduct government business. A listing of vehicles and their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission levels is posted in the directory and travelers are encouraged to rent vehicles with low GHG emissions. The car rental industry also offers hybrid and/or alternate fuel vehicles. The directory displays these vehicles in its vehicle categories list.

Supplier Consultations:

A letter was posted on MERX – the Government’s electronic tendering service - and was sent to all car rental suppliers located within the identified select markets ahead of time to inform industry of the changes in the method of supply. The letter spoke of the GC transformation agenda and explained the RFSO process.

Bidders conference will also be held in Toronto and Montreal. The conference will walk the suppliers through the solicitation document and through the bidding process in detail.