Invitation to Tender for Bus Shelter Advertising Supply/Erection and Maintenance (Option A) and Advertising Only (Option B).

Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk with a population of around 137,500 within the Borough, expanding to around 350,000 within a 15 mile radius. A thriving urban area, Ipswich is well provisioned with shops, parks, leisure and cultural facilities that help to make it a regional centre within East Anglia. Sitting at the point where the A14 and A12 meet and the Great Eastern Mainline connects with other regional railway lines, Ipswich is well connected to the wider world and is also a leading area of public and private employment with particular emphasis on the insurance/finance, IT/creative and logistics sectors. The primary purpose of this tender is for the provision of a number of high quality bus shelters for the bus passengers of Ipswich, financed through the exclusive provision of advertising upon the said shelters. Two options are proposed as the methods of delivery and bidders are required to submit bids for both. Option A sees the bidder supply, install and maintain the advertising style bus shelters. Bidders are required to state the number of such shelters that they would supply and the amount they would pay to the Council per such shelter per year. This would be increased throughout the agreement in line with the Retail Prices Index. Under this option, the Council has a sub-option during the agreement for the successful bidder to clean and/or maintain Council owned bus shelters as well (which do not carry advertising) for which bidders must indicate a cost to the Council per shelter per year. This would also be increased throughout the agreement in line with the Retail Prices Index. In both cases, financial penalties would apply for poor performance. Under this option, bidders are required to submit as many designs (including detailed technical drawings) for advertising style bus shelters as they wish, provided that at least one design is submitted for shelters in conservation areas and outside listed buildings (a ‘special’ design) and one for other locations (a ‘standard’ design). A single design can be submitted for both categories if desired. All designs must meet the Council’s Specification. Option B sees the Council supply, install and maintain the advertising style bus shelters (with financial penalties for poor performance). The bidder is required to sell the advertising spaces and arrange for the advertising to be provided and changed as required. Bidders would pay a fixed amount to the Council per shelter per year. This would be increased throughout the agreement in line with the Retail Prices Index. Bidders are required to state the amount that they are prepared to pay to the Council per shelter per year and the number of advertising style bus shelters that they are prepared to pay this amount for. For both Option A and Option B, bidders are required to submit bids for a 10 year and a 15 year agreement, during which time the bidder would have exclusive advertising rights on all the bus shelters provided under the agreement,