Travel Services Tender London

Third party season ticketing retailing trial.

United Kingdom-London: Travel agency and similar services

2014/S 199-352321

Contract notice – utilities

Services

Directive 2004/17/EC

Section I: Contracting entity

I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)

ATOC Limited
200 Aldersgate Street
For the attention of: Peter Twigg
EC1A 4HD London
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 2078418218
E-mail: peter.twigg@atoc.org

Further information can be obtained from: ATOC Limited
200 Aldersgate Street
For the attention of: Peter Twigg
EC1A 4HD London
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 2078418218
E-mail: peter.twigg@atoc.org

Specifications and additional documents (including documents for a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: ATOC Limited
200 Aldersgate Street
For the attention of: Peter Twigg
EC1A 4HD London
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 2078418218
E-mail: peter.twigg@atoc.org

Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: ATOC Limited
200 Aldersgate Street
For the attention of: Peter Twigg
EC1A 4HD London
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 2078418218
E-mail: peter.twigg@atoc.org

I.2)Main activity

Railway services

I.3)Contract award on behalf of other contracting entities

Section II: Object of the contract

II.1)Description

II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting entity:

Third party season ticketing retailing trial.

II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance

Services
Service category No 27: Other services
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: Nationwide.

NUTS code UK

II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)

The notice involves a public contract

II.1.4)Information on framework agreement

II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s):

ATOC Limited is the trade association owned by each of the franchised train operating companies (TOCs) in Great Britain. ATOC, on behalf of the TOCs, now wishes, for a one year trial period commencing in April 2015, to enable licensed third party retailers to issue season tickets.
In the year to mid-August 2014, the rail industry issued 29 200 000 season tickets. The bulk (83 %) were weekly tickets, while monthlies accounted for 16 %. Annuals accounted for 1 % of issues. However the value of these sales is split differently; weeklies 33 %, monthlies 31 %, annuals 35 %. The volume and value of Seasons with other validity periods is relatively marginal.
The principal objectives of the trial will be: i) to gauge the scale of the market for season ticket purchases through third party retail channels; ii) to evaluate the practicality, both operational and economic, of third party retailers being able effectively to operate the associated issuing and support procedures; and iii) to assess the level of satisfaction among season ticket purchasers who have used third party retail channels.
Participants must be able to issue rail Season Tickets, including London Travelcard Seasons, with duration of either one week or any validity between 1 month and 1 year, on ticket stock appropriate to the type of season being sold, such ticket stock to be procured through normal industry procurement channels. This should apply either in the case of a customer purchasing a Season for the first time, or in the case of a customer renewing an existing season ticket.
All seasons must be issued on a Ticket Issuing System (TIS) which has been approved by Rail Settlement Plan Ltd, who will issue appropriate accreditation waivers for the duration of the trial. Any costs associated with activating a TIS’s season ticket issuing functionality will be borne by the participant. There will be no requirement for participants to issue seasons on smart-cards, although those who have TIS capable of doing so are free to offer such a service during the trial.
Participants must be able to offer the full range of ‘after sales’ services to holders of Season Tickets purchased from them. Examples of these requirements are:
Calculate and process refunds on unused or partly used season tickets;
provide replacement season tickets where the original has been lost, stolen or damaged;
provide replacement season tickets where the original becomes illegible or ceases to activate ticket barriers;
change one season ticket for another where the holder wishes to change the journey part way through the validity of a season ticket (for example following home relocation), calculating any refund due to, or payment due from, the holder as appropriate.
Participants should devise expeditious methods for fulfilling orders, and should give particular consideration to how they will cater for customers’ immediate travel needs in the event that a Season Ticket they have sold ceases to work or becomes lost. It will not be possible to offer a ‘ticket on departure’ (TOD) service for season tickets during the trial period.
Where specified to meet operational management and fraud prevention requirements, participants must keep a record of season ticket sales (including relevant personal data relating to the holder). In such cases holders must be notified that their details will be shared with the relevant train companies and/or Transport for London, for the purposes of operational management and research.
Participants will be responsible, at their own cost, for advertising to their customer base that they are able to retail season tickets during the trial period. ATOC is likely to conduct co-ordinated media relations activities with interested parties and relevant industry stakeholders.
ATOC will schedule a programme of formal reviews during the trial period, and will conduct an assessment of its success on conclusion. The success of the trial will be objectively measured against 3 main criteria:
The volume of Season Ticket sales made by participating agents;
Overall customer satisfaction with sales made by agents; and
Participant’s ability effectively to perform the issuing procedures.

II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

63510000, 63512000

II.1.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

II.1.8)Information about lots

II.1.9)Information about variants

II.2)Quantity or scope of the contract

II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:

II.2.2)Information about options

Options: no

II.2.3)Information about renewals

This contract is subject to renewal: no

II.3)Duration of the contract or time limit for completion

Duration in months: 12 (from the award of the contract)

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information

III.1)Conditions relating to the contract

III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:

III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:

The agents shall be paid by way of commission on all season tickets sold. Details of the payment arrangements shall be described in the invitation to tender documents.

III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:

III.1.4)Other particular conditions:

The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: no

III.2)Conditions for participation

III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

III.2.2)Economic and financial ability

III.2.3)Technical capacity

III.2.4)Information about reserved contracts

III.3)Conditions specific to services contracts

III.3.1)Information about a particular profession

III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the service

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)Type of procedure

IV.1.1)Type of procedure

Negotiated
Some candidates have already been selected (if appropriate under certain types of negotiated procedures): no

IV.2)Award criteria

IV.2.1)Award criteria

The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications or in the invitation to tender or to negotiate

IV.2.2)Information about electronic auction

IV.3)Administrative information

IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting entity:

IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents

IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

3.11.2014 – 12:00

IV.3.5)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up

English.

IV.3.6)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender

IV.3.7)Conditions for opening of tenders

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.1)Information about recurrence

VI.2)Information about European Union funds

VI.3)Additional information:

Applicants will be invited to participate based on evidence of complying with, and their response to this notice will be evaluated against, the following criteria:
Availability of a Ticket Issuing System (TIS) approved by Rail Settlement Plan Ltd which is capable of issuing (or being developed to issue) Season Tickets. Any costs associated with activating a TIS’s season ticket issuing functionality will fall to the participant.
Ability to meet ATOC’s set-up timescale
An indication of the proposed approach to dealing with customers’ potential ‘after sales’ requirements.
Availability of, or the ability to provide by start of trial, a secure customer data management system. It shall be the responsibility of participants to ensure compliance with, and registration under, Data Protection legislation as necessary.
Credible and effective customer awareness marketing activity plans.
Interested parties should submit a response covering each of the above criteria in no more than 10 pages in total. Responses should be submitted electronically in either Word or PDF format and forwarded to the email address provided in this notice by the specified deadline.
(MT Ref:141433)

VI.4)Procedures for appeal

VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures

VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals

VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained

VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:

13.10.2014