Date: July 28, 1988

P.S. Protest No. 88-40

ZAPPIA TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, INC.

Solicitation No. 010-269-88

DECISION

Zappia Transportation Services, Inc. (Zappia) has timely protested the terms of solicitation No. 010-269-88 issued by the Springfield, MA, Transportation Management Service Center for highway transportation service between the Post Offices at Buffalo and Rochester, NY, and the Bulk Mail Center (BMC) and the General Mail Facility (GMF) at Pittsburgh, PA, for a term beginning October 1, 1988.

The protest is based on the allegation that the solicitation understates the annual mileage of the route by failing to include an allowance for travel between the Pittsburgh GMF and BMC on certain of the required trips. 1

In his report on the protest, the contracting officer represents that the mileage shown in the solicitation is correct, and that it is possible to provided the Buffalo-Pittsburgh service in a manner which does not require the round trip suggested by Zappia, thereby avoiding the Pittsburgh GMF-BMC leg. Nevertheless, subsequent to receipt of Zappia's protest, the contracting officer issued Amendment No. 1 to the solicitation, adding the following explanation to the statement of schedule and frequency requirements:

Trip 803 terminates at the Pittsburgh, PA GMF and Trip 804 departs form the Pittsburgh, PA BMC. The mileage between the two facilities (approximately 20 miles) is not included in the Approximate Trip Mileage nor the Estimated Annual Schedule miles.

Trip 813 terminates at the Pittsburgh, PA BMC and Trip 814 departs form the Pittsburgh, PA GMF. The mileage between the two facilities (approximately 29 miles) is not included in the Approximate Trip Mileage nor the Estimated Annual Schedule Miles.

Prior to submitting a bid, the bidder should determine the actual miles and actual hours needed to operate the service.

We find that Amendment No. 1 substantially satisfies Zappia's concern that estimated mileage in the solicitation is understated. Although the amendment does not adjust the solicitation's estimate of miles, as requested by Zappia, it puts prospective bidders on notice that the miles given do not include the Pittsburgh GMF-BMC leg. This is appropriate because those miles are not part of the route. The amendment thus moots the protest. See Zappia Transportation Services, Inc., P.S. Protest No. 41, July 27, 1988.

The protest is dismissed.

William J. Jones

Associate General Counsel

Office of Contracts and Property Law

[checked against original JLS 2/25/93]

Trip 803, from Buffalo to the Pittsburgh GMF, is estimated in the solicitation to be 222 miles in length. Trip 804, from the Pittsburgh BMC to Buffalo is estimated at 202 miles. Zappia regards Trips 803 and 804 as a single round trip, in which should be included an additional allowance of 20 miles from the segment form the Pittsburgh GMF to the BMC. Zappia advances a similar argument for Trips 813 and 814, which follow the same routes on different schedules.