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Services - 234644-2019
21/05/2019    S97

United Kingdom-Guildford: Highway toll services

2019/S 097-234644

Prior information notice

This notice is for prior information only

Services

Legal Basis:
Directive 2014/24/EU

Section I: Contracting authority

I.1)Name and addresses
Official name: Highways England
Postal address: Bridge House, 1 Walnut Tree Close
Town: Guildford
NUTS code: UK UNITED KINGDOM
Postal code: GU1 4LZ
Country: United Kingdom
Contact person: Neil Widdop
E-mail: TechnologyProcurement@highwaysengland.co.uk
Telephone: +44 3001235000
Internet address(es):
Main address: https://trello.com/b/xaTYWhJx
Address of the buyer profile: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/highways-england
I.3)Communication
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
I.4)Type of the contracting authority
National or federal agency/office
I.5)Main activity
General public services

Section II: Object

II.1)Scope of the procurement
II.1.1)Title:

Free-Flow Charging Package A: Road User Charging Services

Reference number: FFC.A
II.1.2)Main CPV code
63712210 Highway toll services
II.1.3)Type of contract
Services
II.1.4)Short description:

Highways England is preparing for the procurement of a free-flow charging solution for commencement of live service between 2021 and 2024 which is primarily driven by the Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing existing road user charging scheme, and potentially any future road user charging schemes (e.g. Lower Thames Crossing).

One proposed element of the free-flow charging solution is road user charging services (Package A), which comprises of vehicle identification, account management, payment processing, and associated customer services, which is the subject of this prior information notice (PIN). Highways England wishes to consult with the market regarding the proposed approach for this package.

The other proposed elements of the free-flow charging solution are UK Enforcement Services (Package B) and Non-UK Enforcement Services (Package C). Package B and C are subject to a separate PIN, and the current intention is to procure them under separate procurement exercises.

II.1.5)Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: 90 000 000.00 GBP
II.1.6)Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: no
II.2)Description
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
32234000 Closed-circuit television cameras
32500000 Telecommunications equipment and supplies
34927000 Toll equipment
34970000 Traffic-monitoring equipment
34980000 Transport tickets
45316210 Installation of traffic monitoring equipment
48000000 Software package and information systems
63712210 Highway toll services
63712311 Bridge toll services
63712321 Tunnel toll services
63712400 Parking services
63712700 Traffic control services
72000000 IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
79342300 Customer services
79940000 Collection agency services
79941000 Toll-collection services
98351110 Parking enforcement services
II.2.3)Place of performance
NUTS code: UK UNITED KINGDOM
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:

Inputs from the initial market engagement (referenced in PIN 18276-2018, located at https://ted.europa.eu/TED/notice/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:018276-2018:TEXT:EN:HTML) were used to inform the commercial and procurement strategy for the free-flow charging solution. The commercial and procurement strategy proposes sourcing the following contract packages through a call for competition:

— Package A: road user charging services. To detect vehicles and create validated vehicle passage records, match vehicle passage records against payments or the exempt vehicle list, process road user charge payments, and manage accounts. This was identified as Package 1 and Package 2 in the initial market engagement, and includes the website and merchant acquirer services,

— Package B: UK Enforcement Services. To manage enforcement activities for vehicles registered in the UK including penalty charge notice payment processing. This was identified as Package 3 in the initial market engagement, and includes the website and merchant acquirer services,

— Package C: Non-UK Enforcement Services. To manage enforcement activities for vehicles registered outside of the UK including penalty charge notice payment processing. This was identified as Package 4 in the initial market engagement, and includes the website and merchant acquirer services.

It is proposed that the following standalone capabilities required for the free-flow charging solution will utilise existing contracts and frameworks (i.e. not a call for competition) and are therefore outside the scope of this (or any subsequent) market engagement:

— user needs research,

— management information system,

— security audits,

— enforcement agents,

— minor engineering works.

Highways England is in the process of producing procurement documents for Package A and wishes to discuss these with the market and receive their feedback. To support this, suppliers will have the opportunity to attend a market engagement event. Suppliers can register for the market engagement event by following the instructions in Section II.2.14).

To support the market engagement, Highways England have created a Trello board for sharing documentation, which can be accessed at https://trello.com/b/xaTYWhJx

A sub-set of the Package A procurement documents explaining the key commercial principles for this procurement (including the terms and conditions, requirements, payment mechanism, and performance management regime) and a questionnaire will be published on the Trello board on Wednesday 5.6.2019, therefore suppliers will have one week to familiarise themselves with the procurement documents prior to the market engagement event. It is encouraged that suppliers do this to ensure productive discussions during the market engagement event about the procurement documents.

Following the market engagement event, suppliers will be given until Friday 28.6.2019 to answer a questionnaire which will seek feedback on the sub-set of the Package A procurement documents. Highways England will then review the questionnaire responses and may amend the procurement documents in line with market feedback and in accordance with Highways England’s obligations under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

We anticipate that the following sectors may be interested in this PIN:

— free-flow tolling and road user charging providers,

— ANPR camera providers,

— DSRC equipment providers,

— transport and mobility payment providers (e.g. parking, smart ticketing, EETS providers),

— contact centre and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) providers.

Suppliers should note that any procurement that may be launched following this PIN, and any resulting contract that may be awarded, may be in the name of Highways England on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport or in the name of the Secretary of State for Transport.

II.2.14)Additional information

Suppliers who wish to attend the market engagement event on Wednesday 12.6.2019 can register by visiting the following link (https://tinyurl.com/yxldfh87) and completing the form by the deadline of 5:00 p.m. on Friday 7.6.2019. Attendance is strictly restricted to 1 attendee per organisation.

II.3)Estimated date of publication of contract notice:
12/08/2019

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)Description
IV.1.8)Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: yes

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.3)Additional information:

This PIN is provided solely for the purposes of obtaining feedback from interested suppliers on the potential commercial opportunities to provide Package A.

The PIN summarises certain aspects of the potential procurement, but does not purport to contain complete descriptions of all such potential arrangements nor does it describe all arrangements that have been or may be entered into in relation to any possible procurement. Any structures and capabilities described in this PIN are proposals only and should not be taken as final.

The recipient of this PIN should note that the information contained in this PIN is preliminary in nature and is subject to amendment and completion. No decision has been made as to the form of any procurement and, as with all public procurements, it is subject to approval.

Accordingly, no reliance should be placed on any information contained in this PIN and no representation, warranty or covenant, express or implied, is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by Highways England or any of its advisors as to the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of such information within this PIN.

This PIN is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision or other evaluation by the recipient, does not constitute and should not be considered as a recommendation by any person regarding the project. Each party to whom this PIN is made available should, at its own cost and expense, make its own independent assessment of the procurement opportunity as it may deem necessary.

This PIN is written and provided in good faith; Highways England reserves the right to vary or not proceed with the procurement in any way and has no liability for costs, losses or other financial impacts to any party reading this PIN or taking part in the market engagement or any procurement that may follow from the market engagement.

VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:
17/05/2019