Decision details

The Cabinet Member:

1.Authorised the award of a Call Off Contract to VIX Technology UK Limited for £348,846 from 3 April 2018 for a period of 5 years with the option to extend for a further 3 years for the bus real time passenger information system service and maintenance. 

2.    Authorised the Council to enter into a  Local Authorities Partnering Agreement with Cambridgeshire County Council, Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council, Luton Borough Council and Northamptonshire County Council from 3 April 2018 for a period of 5 years with the option to extend for a further 3 years  

3.    Authorised the entering into of contracts with Stagecoach Group PLC and such other bus operators who wish to join the scheme, in relation to the real time passenger information system involving the provision, installation and maintenance of equipment on vehicles and/or the provision of data to allow the system to function, for a period of 5 years, with the option to extend for up to a further 3 years.

Authorised the Director of Governance or delegated officers to enter into any other legal documentation on behalf of the Council in relation to this matter.

The continuation of the project will deliver many benefits and is being recommended for the             following reasons:

·         Reduced unit costs for purchasing RTPI equipment and maintenance, through economy of scale.

·         Allows 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 partnership with other authorities.

RTPI is not possible if the Council does not act in conjunction with other local authorities and is the only feasible way forward to continue implementing this technology.

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

The Council’s vision is to promote passenger transport and this is stipulated in the Local Transport Plan 3.  The Council encouraged the public to move to this mode of transport tying in with the Environmental Capital ethos, and RTPI supplements this.

The arrangements with the bus operators enables the Council to receive, process and distribute live bus data supplied by the operators and also sets out any financial contributions from operators that goes towards the operating and maintenance costs of the system.

This report is being submitted, due to the value of the project being over £500,000, when the cumulative value of the initial 5 years together with the additional 3 year extension period, are taken into account.

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 Local Transport Plan 3.

An alternative to joint working and continuing this project would be to purchase and maintain independently as a local authority.  This would also 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 components of the system as the total amount purchased would be considerably less than joint purchase.

The bus operators are an important aspect of any bus RTPI system.  The bus operators will contribute where appropriate, in terms of revenue costs to the project and the supply of live bus data and without this commitment, the project would become unfeasible. As the main operator in Peterborough and Cambridge and Bedford is Stagecoach Group PLC, it is vitally important that they are a key partner in this project. 

A further alternative would be to not continue the partnership and therefore not have a RTPI system in Peterborough. This would mean that previous investment in the central system would be lost and existing equipment on the buses and at 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 the other local authorities and bus operators involved, as well as the public who use the service.

None.

Local Transport Plan 3