Multi Operator cEMV Contactless Fare Capping System

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) through Transport for West Midlands ('TfWM'), and in partnership with Project Coral (a Bus operators' group), are aiming to progress and introduce a contactless ticketing solution/ system (cEMV) for public transport users on bus and tram across England. Project Coral was formed in 2019 and is a collaborative private sector led Steering Board comprising of FirstGroup PLC, Arriva UK Bus Ltd, Stagecoach Services Ltd, The Go-Ahead Group Ltd, National Express Ltd and Rotala PLC.

Currently, with multiple modes of transport, serviced by an array of operators, public transport users often overpay for their travel; due to the variety of embedded solutions being unable to interplay with each other. TfWM and Coral therefore wish to procure a contactless multi-operator fare capping ticketing system. The system will provide a secure way of reconciling customer trips when payments are made using contactless (cEMV) technology across different public transport operators and their respective independent technical systems. The system will enable customers of (initially) tram and bus services to only need their credit or debit cards or mobile phones to make payment at the best price. This is in line with the Department for Transport's (DfT) wider national objectives to make multi-modal and multi-operator travel cheaper and easier for individuals, capping payments at a daily or weekly limit.

The maximum contract value is £16,752,000. The initial contract term is 5 years but with three separate built in extensions (+2, +2, +1). Thus, if all the extension options are triggered, the total contract length will be 10 years in total.

Additional information:

Please register your company on our e-tendering portal (Bravo Solution). Instructions on how to register are located at:

https://www.wmca.org.uk/media/1692/wmca_etendering_supplier_registration_guide_2016.pdf

Further key details around expressing an interest in this exercise are listed below:

Portal Website: https://wmca.bravosolution.co.uk

Bravo Solution Project Reference: project_724, pqq_238 - Multi Operator cEMV Contactless Fare Capping System

Once registered on the portal, please access Project_724 on our e-tendering portal and access pqq_238. In pqq_238 you will find the Qualification Envelope, which contains the Selection Questionnaire (SQ).

The deadline to respond to the SQ is 08th November 2024 @ 12:00pm

The intended weighting for this opportunity at ITN stage (following SQ Assessment) is:

Technical (Quality) - 70% Commercial (Price) - 30%

This is subject to change however, and will be confirmed on publication of the ITN (Invitation to Negotiate), which is expected to be published on Monday 02nd December 2024. WMCA will provide terms and conditions to the Prospective Bidders at the Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) or Invitation to submit a final tender (ISFT) stage of the procurement