About Bid Express

Increase the efficiency and accuracy of the bidding process with Bid Express®, the premier web-based bidding information service developed exclusively for the highway construction industry.

Bid Express saves you time and money
Bid Express saves the time needed for preparing bids on paper and the travel time and expense involved in attending lettings and submitting bids in person. This valuable service also allows you to quickly scan all current lettings to find exactly what you are looking for. A search function is available for seeking keyword information on current lettings, historical data from previous lettings, and vendor information. Plus, you have the option of instant access to lettings from across the country, not just those of your home state.

Additional features of Bid Express include:

• User-friendly interface
• Complete schedule of items for each contract, including cost plus time proposals
• List of planholders
• Bid tabulations
• Plan sheets
• Various download formats
• One-stop web site for state transportation agency projects on a national level

When you bid electronically using Bid Express, you won’t have to wait for weeks to learn the outcome, because the state agency has the option to post letting results to the Bid Express web site as they are being read. This makes real-time bid results available within seconds of the bid opening.

Works with Trns•port Expedite®
While Bid Express is a powerful and useful tool on its own, it helps you even more when used in conjunction with Trns•port Expedite® Bid. Expedite software is used in bid preparation by 38 state transportation agencies, and Bid Express users can download it for free. When you prepare your bid using Expedite Bid, quantities come across automatically. All you have to do is fill in the unit prices, avoiding costly computation errors. Expedite Bid will also alert you to blanks or errors in your bid preparation, and has the additional capability to do on-line verification of bid bonds via Bid Express. Expedite Bid can track DBE commitments and amounts, and handle cost plus time bidding. Use Expedite Bid to electronically prepare and check your bid; then, in states where two-way bidding has been established, you can submit your bid over the Internet with Bid Express.

Top security ensures your bid is safe
Security is assured by the use of the latest encryption technology. Bid Express uses the same security system that is used by the National Security Agency, the banking industry and Internet commerce to ensure your bid is safe. Through a system of public and private keys, the bid files are unreadable by anyone except the state transportation agency on bid opening day, even if intercepted. Contractors have the flexibility to withdraw or replace their bids at any time prior to opening. For states using two-way electronic bidding, digital signature technology has been incorporated to provide the maximum level of security and confidence.

Reliability you can count on
Bid Express has been in operation since 1999, with 99.95% reliability. In addition to redundant power sources and file back-ups, duplicate sets of Bid Express hardware are located in separate geographical locations using separate internet service providers. Extra precautions like these create the reliability you would expect for this critical service.

Support when you need it
When you need help, customer support for Bid Express is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm EST. Customer support voice mail and e-mail are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition, answers to frequently asked questions are posted on the Bid Express website.

Getting started
All you need to use Bid Express is a computer with access to the Internet. Visit the Bid Express web site at www.bidx.com and log in as a guest to try it out. As a guest, you will have access to most of the services available, although you will only be able to access contracts with letting dates before January 2002. When you decide to subscribe, you can simply sign up on line. Just fill out the necessary information and we’ll have your account ready in minutes.

Information in this guide is subject to change without notice. The Trns•port Expedite name and logo are trademarks of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Trns•port Expedite is a proprietary software product of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The Bid Express and Bidx.com names and logos are trademarks of Bidx.com.