Decision details

In recognition of the gap in transport planning at the regional level outside London, the Government has created the opportunity for local transport authorities to come together to form Sub-national Transport Bodies (STB).

In its Transport Investment Strategy (published in July 2017) the Department for Transport set out the critical role for STBs in advising the Secretary of State, through their transport strategies, on the prioritisation of transport investments, including those overseen by Highways England and Network Rail.They can also take on powers and responsibilities aimed at improving conditions for the travelling public such as the introduction of smart and integrated ticketing systems.

Transport for the South East (TFSE) brings together a group of 16 Local Transport Authorities and five Local Enterprise Partnerships to speak with a single voice on the area’s transport priorities.

It was decided that this contract should be awarded to the following suppliers as they achieved the highest scores in each mini-competition via the ESPO Framework (Option 1):

Lot A =Steer Davies & Gleave Limited (with WSP UK Limited as subcontractor creating a joint team)
Lot B =WSP UK Limited
Lot D =WSP UK Limited

The decision has been taken to not award Lot C – Smart Ticketing – due to the submissions both lacking in evidenced knowledge and experience (One bidder scoring below expectations for 2 of the 3 criteria and another for 1 out of 3 criteria). Procurement are working with the TfSE to identify an alternative route to market for the requirements of Lot C.

Option 2: Restricted Tender
Restricted tender, this is time consuming but would be a necessity as there are a lot of players in the market.

Option 3: Open Tender

Open Tender, this would take a large amount of time and wouldn’t necessarily add value to the outcome

Option 4: Do nothing

Do nothing -we will lose out on the opportunity to design a Transport for the South East model and any benefits of integrated transport strategies in future.