Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Directive 2014/25/EU
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Translink
22 Great Victoria Street
Belfast
BT2 7LX
UK
Contact person: Rachel Lemon
E-mail: rachel.lemon@translink.co.uk
NUTS: UK
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Address of the buyer profile: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
I.6) Main activity
Urban railway, tramway, trolleybus or bus services
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Journey Planner and Passenger Information System
II.1.2) Main CPV code
48813000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Translink intends to award a contract to Mentz Datenverarbeitung GMBH using the Negotiated Procedure without a Prior Call for Competition. This contract will be for continued development, maintenance and support of the existing Journey Planner system. Journey planning is an integral aspect of the commercial digital offering. It is at the core of wider passenger information including the customer contact centre, the Translink app and real time information provision. Customers currently visit the website or use the app to plan journeys, check fares and can buy a limited range of tickets.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Lowest offer:
/ Highest offer:
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKN
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
It is Translink's intention to directly award a contract for support and maintenance of the Journey Planner System for a period of 3 years, at an estimated value of 860 000 GBP, in order to deliver the following requirements:
1) Functional maintenance and other developments to the background system (circa 90 % of overall requirement). Only Mentz can undertake this work on the basis of intellectual property rights ownership;
2) Updates (less than 10 % of the overall requirement). To be supplied by Mentz in return for payment of a license fee;
3) Support (less than 5 %). Translink handle the majority of the support in-house and have an in-house super user for trouble shooting, problem solving and bug fixing;
4) Customisation and “front end” (less than 5 %). Translink's requirements in this regard are limited.
The Translink customer information system, referred to as the Journey Planner system was procured under OJEU and launched in March 2013.
In line with Translink’s information and data management policy, Translink have successfully leveraged this customer information platform as a single source for customer information services that Translink provide.
As such this system powers the contact centre enquiries system, the Translink_NI app, generates all automated print products and is heavily integrated with the Translink website for the online journey planner, next service/real time look-up, and customer information departure screens across the whole of the Ulsterbus network.
Within a continuous improvement environment significant developments have been delivered to integrate richer data (e.g. TransXchange, real time and fares), provide customer experience rich features, and achieve reach across customers’ preferred channels.
The system also supports provision of standardised data sets to meet google GTFS standards (for Translink services to be used in Google Transit) and to support the provision of Translink data to open data NI portal.
Journey Planner system has been developed to a stage where it has become entirely integrated in almost all aspects of Translink’s essential operations. The current supplier supports the database/data integration engine (DIVA) that forms the core of Journey Planner and a range of applications, interfaces and data exchange licences.
Translink will review this approach and establish a future position at the end of the 3 year period.
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
No
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
II.2.14) Additional information
The DIVA engine receives operational data and integrates real time data sets from 3rd party systems as well as receiving XML open data sets from rail services for real time and incident reporting. The DIVA engine holds all topological data which has been modelled to maximize the effectiveness of the customer experience.
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated procedure without prior call for competition
Justification for selected award procedure:
The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason: absence of competition for technical reasons
Explanation:
The Regulations, together with other obligations imposed upon utilities such as Translink by European and UK procurement law, do not require Translink to eliminate every possible advantage an economic operator has, and to always competitively tender all its requirements in all circumstances. Procurement law requires that, where a utility needs to purchase something, it procures that requirement in a manner that fosters competition in accordance with the principles set out in the Regulations and associated case law. It does not dictate that a utility fundamentally changes its requirements or specifications in order merely to ensure that there is potential competition in relation to an existing need, in a manner that perhaps does not make commercial or operational sense or secure best value for money.
Where a utility owns or has a licence to a product (in this case, the licences to the Journey Planner software) which it is happy with and which meets its functional requirements, procurement law does not de facto oblige a utility to cease using that product and procure something which does not meet its needs, or in a manner which is unsuitable to meet its requirements. Nor does it, in itself, impose an obligation to hold a competitive process for an entirely new or different product (which will incur time and cost on the part of both the utility and bidding entities), if that product is not required. Whilst procurement law requires that, where a contract expires, continued service provision (whether by the same or a new contractor) is procured in a manner that complies with procurement law; it does not require the utility to also cease using any underlying product that it has continued rights to use, or owns merely to ensure a competitive process is adopted (as in the current scenario where Translink has perpetual licences to use the Journey Planner product).
Licenses have been procured for the range of features/services including relevant data imports and exports. The licenses are owned by Translink (are perpetual) and Translink only incur recurring support/maintenance costs on these. Mentz therefore are contracted annually only to maintain, support and develop or customise the licensed products owned by Translink. The current contract was awarded in January 2017 until 31.12.2019.
The intellectual property rights in the DIVA engine belong to Mentz and are licensed to Translink on a perpetual basis. The system has been customised collaboratively between Translink and Mentz.
Whilst Translink owns perpetual licences for the existing customisations of the software, those licenses do not extend to granting access to third parties or development of the software.
Further, Translink does not (in accordance with the licence terms) have access to the source code of the software for the purposes of development.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
Section V: Award of contract/concession
V.2 Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession
05/12/2018
V.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Mentz Datenverarbeitung GMBH
Munich
DE
NUTS: DE
The contractor is an SME:
Yes
V.2.4) Information on value of the concession and main financing terms (excluding VAT)
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
High Court Northern Ireland
Belfast
UK
VI.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:
The Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (ENGLAND, WALES and NORTHERN IRELAND).
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
13/12/2018