CABINET MEMBER FOR HOUSING, NEIGHBOURHOODS AND PLANNING

May 2010 PUBLIC REPORT

Cabinet Member(s) responsible: Councillor Hiller, Cabinet Member for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Planning Contact Officer(s): Operations: Paul Phillipson Tel. 01733 Lead officer : Amy Wardell 317481

Contract for the maintenance and expansion of the real time passenger information system.

R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S FROM : Deadline date : N/A Amy Wardell Team manager – passenger transport projects 01733 317481 amy.wardell@peterborough.gov.uk

The Cabinet Member is recommended to:

1. Authorise the Executive Director – Operations to award the contract for the maintenance and expansion (within available resources) of the RTPI system to Advanced Communication and Information Systems Limited (ACIS).

1. ORIGIN OF REPORT

1.1 This report is submitted to the Cabinet Member for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Planning following a tendering process.

2. PURPOSE AND REASON FOR REPORT

2.1 The purpose of this report is to provide additional background information with regard to the maintenance and expansion of the real time passenger information system contract.

2.2 This report is for Councillor Hiller the Cabinet Member for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Planning to consider as set out at delegation number 3.7.1 (a) of Part 3 of the delegation document.

2.3 The attached report/background information is NOT FOR PUBLICATION in accordance with paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of Part 1 of the Local Government Act 1972 in that it contains information relating to financial and business affairs, namely the contract price submitted by the successful bidder. The public interest test has been applied to the information contained within the exempt annex and it is considered that the need to retain the information as exempt outweighs the public interest in it because to disclose it could compromise the Council’s position in any future procurement exercise for similar services.

3. TIMESCALE

Is this a Major Policy NO If Yes, date for relevant N/A Item/Statutory Plan? Cabinet Meeting

4. DETAILS OF DECISION REQUIRED

4.1 Authority for the Executive Director – Operations to award the contract for the maintenance and expansion (within available resources) of a bus real time passenger information system to Advance Communications and Information Systems Limited (ACIS).

4.2 This decision seeks approval to purchase bus hardware, bus operator terminals (hardware and software), on street signs and additional infrastructure required for the expansion of the system.

4.3 This contract will therefore include the design, manufacture, delivery to site, erection, testing, completion and the remedying of defects of RTPI equipment. The maintenance of this equipment will ensure the safe ongoing operation of this equipment.

5. CONSULTATION

5.1 Meetings have been held with all consortium members, bus operators and the RTPI project board. The decision to award this contract to ACIS is a result of an intense procurement exercise.

5.2 A bus passenger post perception survey was carried out for RTPI in March 2008. Headline results were as follows: • 81% of the interviewees said they had seen the Peterborough RTPI screens – indicating they are effective and have attracted public attention • Of the people who had seen the displays, two thirds had used the information provided on the screens • 89% believe that the current displays are located in the right places. • 59% felt that the screens had improved their satisfaction in using the buses in Peterborough

6. ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES

6.1 Signing the RTPI contract will enable Peterborough to continue implementing, expanding (within available resources) and maintaining the existing RTPI system.

6.2 RTPI is not possible if PCC are not part of the partnership contract with neighbouring authorities. Entering into a contract with the consortiums preferred supplier is the only feasible way forward to continue implementing and maintaining this technology.

6.3 RTPI can improve service reliability through the analysis of vehicle movements, leading to improved fleet management by operators and the identification of bus priority measures by local authorities. RTPI also reduces the need for conventional timetables at bus stops and the work required to replace these when timetables change.

7. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

7.1 The authority to enter into a partnership agreement with Cambridgeshire County Council, Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council and Luton Borough Council to continue implementing a county wide real time passenger information system was approved by a Cabinet Member Decision on 30 October 2009. This incorporated the approval of an annual membership payment that goes towards the management and maintenance of the RTPI central system. With this foundation, the existing equipment (screens, on bus kit, operator terminals etc) require maintenance and new equipment needs to be purchased in order to continue implementing the scheme. This equipment will be purchased and maintained through this proposed contract between Peterborough City Council and the supplier.

7.2 The preferred supplier has been selected through an in depth tendering process. 32 expressions of interest were registered for the OJEU notice and 8 completed pre qualification questionnaires were received by the closing date. Six companies were shortlisted and sent a copy of the invitation to tender document. One tender was received from Advanced Communication and Information Systems (ACIS) which was then evaluated on the quality and financial submission. Following an in depth evaluation, the consortium agreed that ACIS is the preferred supplier for the contract.

7.3 The award of this contract will deliver many benefits and is being recommended for the following reasons: • Reduced costs and officer time spent on the management of the contract due to being managed by the consortium • Reduced unit costs for the purchasing and maintenance of RTPI equipment – through economy of scale • Will allow continued operation of existing system and technology already in place • Ensures bus operators across the area are all equipped with the same technology • System is too expensive to continue without this contract with other authorities

8. Financial implications The financial implications of this contract will involve: 8.1 The purchasing of new equipment - Peterborough City Councils capital allocation for on bus hardware, bus operator terminals (hardware and software), on street displays and new innovative equipment needed for the expansion of the system is included in the LTP2 budget allocations. The agreed budget is £110,000 for 2010/11 and it is anticipated that a budget of approximately £50-100K will be assigned to RTPI on a yearly basis as part of LTP3 capital allocations (due to RTPI being included in the 5 year Medium Term Financial Strategy). 8.2 The maintenance of existing and new equipment – There will be an annual revenue cost to cover the maintenance of this on street equipment along with a membership payment to the consortium. This membership payment is for the management and maintenance of the RTPI central system (as approved in the CMDN for partnership working on 30/10/09). However a proportion of this total maintenance is met by bus operators for on bus and depot equipment and through operator’s payment of a membership contribution which reduces the annual maintenance cost to Peterborough City Council. Following on from this, the ongoing maintenance cost for the Council is dependent on the expansion of the system as over the next five years, it is proposed that more equipment will be purchased through capital resources to expand the system (more displays at bus stops etc) and as a result there will be more equipment to be maintained with associated revenue consequences. This will need to be costed and agreed as affordable when LTP3 allocations are assigned to ensure that ongoing revenue costs are covered within existing resources. All decisions to allocate a RTPI budget will be made at the LTP3 Programme Board and the Public Transport Project Board will administer all decisions for purchasing new equipment. It should be noted that there will be no impact on revenue costs if a budget is not assigned through LTP3 as there will be no new equipment purchased.

9. ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

9.1 Peterborough City Council is committed to improving the quality of public transport information through real time passenger information. This also forms an integral part of the Travelchoice project. If this option does not proceed, Peterborough will be unable to progress and maintain the existing RTPI system and will not benefit from the shared central system and the benefits from the partnership working with neighbouring authorities.

9.2 An alternative to awarding this contract with the consortium would be to purchase and maintain independently as a local authority. This would involve starting again with purchasing a central system. To implement a RTPI system independently would increase costs significantly. This approach would incur significantly higher costs for the system because there would be more components to purchase when implementing alone and the costs of these components would be higher.

9.3 The bus operator is an important aspect of any bus RTPI system. The bus operator will contribute, in terms of revenue costs to the project and without the commitment the project would become unfeasible. As the main operator in Peterborough, Cambridge and Bedford is Stagecoach, there are benefits to the operator in reduced maintenance costs through economy of scale and therefore this strengthens their business case. If the units are purchased independently due to not being part of the consortium contract, the cost per unit will rise and the operator is unlikely to continue taking part in the project.

9.4 The final alternative would be to not sign the contract and therefore not have an RTPI system in Peterborough. This would mean that the previous investment in the central system would be lost and the existing equipment on the buses and at the bus stops would deteriorate (due to not being maintained) and would have to be switched off. This would also have a negative impact on partnership working with other local authorities and bus operators involved.

10. IMPLICATIONS

10.1 If this contract is not approved and signed, this will have a detrimental impact on the current RTPI system. It will mean that all the equipment that has previously been bought and installed will need alternative maintenance agreements put in place which will be more expensive and any new equipment purchased will have increased costs. This will also have a negative impact on partnerships with surrounding local authorities and bus operators.

11. BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS Used to prepare this report, in accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985)

11.1 None.