Contract for the supply of a bus communications and information system and related services.

Tender description

In 2005 LBSL awarded a 10-year contract to Siemens for the bus communication system known as iBus (the Contract). The Contract was novated to Trapeze ITS Switzerland GmBH Limited (Trapeze) in October 2009. In 2015, the parties agreed to extend the Contract from May 2015 for up to 7 years, such that it would terminate in May 2022. TfL is competitively procuring the next generation system, iBus2, under the PCR 2015. TfL initially expected the iBus2 procurement to be completed before 2022. However, the iBus2 procurement has taken longer than foreseen and is still ongoing. Consequently, LBSL now needs to extend the Contract term for up to a further 5 years (3 years initial term, plus options for two one-year extensions) until May 2027 (the "Extension") to allow for completion of the iBus2 procurement and transition to the resulting new arrangements. As explained at IV.1.1 below, TfL and LBSL consider that the Extension benefits from the exemption in Reg. 72(1)(b) PCR. Lot 1: As noted at II.1.4) above, in 2005 LBSL awarded a 10-year contract to Siemens for the bus communication system known as iBus (the Contract). The iBus system is the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system for the London bus network and London Trams. It supports approximately 9,000 buses (and their associated infrastructure such as garages and Service Control Centres) across Greater London and provides critical functionality including Real Time Passenger Information and facilitating emergency response services. The Contract was novated to Trapeze in October 2009. In 2015, the parties agreed to extend the Contract from May 2015 for up to 7 years, such that it would terminate in May 2022. TfL is competitively procuring the next generation system, iBus2, under the PCR 2015. The iBus2 procurement is comprised as two lots: the on-bus systems and the back-office systems (both of which are currently provided by Trapeze). TfL initially expected the iBus2 procurement to be completed before 2022. However, the iBus2 procurement has taken longer than foreseen and is still ongoing. Consequently, LBSL now needs to extend the Contract term for up to a further 5 years (3 years initial term, plus options for two one-year extensions) until May 2027 (the "Extension") to allow for completion of the iBus2 procurement and orderly transition to the resulting new arrangements. The Extension comprises the following steps: 1. As a first step, on 27 April 2022, TfL and Trapeze entered into an agreement to extend the Contract for a period of eight weeks from 4 May 2022, expiring on 30 June 2022 ("the Short-term Extension"). The purpose of the Short-term Extension is to continue the Contract while LBSL and TfL consider the terms of a Medium-term Extension offered by Trapeze to LBSL (see below). 2. As a second step, LBSL and Trapeze expect to enter into a further agreement which will extend the Contract for up to a further 5 years (an initial term that takes the duration of the Short-term Extension plus the further extension to a total of 3 years, plus options for two additional one-year extensions) until May 2027 ("the Medium-term Extension"). The proposed commercial terms for that extension have recently been agreed with Trapeze and reflected in a binding offer by Trapeze capable of acceptance by LBSL during a limited period. The parties will enter into the Medium-term Extension if and when LBSL's acceptance of Trapeze's offer is approved following associated LBSL and TfL governance activities. As explained at IV.1.1 and VI.3 below, TfL and LBSL consider that the Extension benefits from the exemption for "additional services" in Regulation 72(1)(b) of the PCR. This exemption allows for the non-competitive procurement of additional services that have become necessary, where a change of contractor cannot be made for economic or technical reasons and where such a change would cause significant inconvenience or duplication of costs. Additional information: The total value of the Extension (as specified at II.1.7 and V.2.4) includes the value of both the Short-term Extension and the Medium-term Extension and assumes that the options for two one-year extensions are exercised.