Decision details

To update the Cabinet Member on the current development of the bus service Real Time Information (RTI) system in Derbyshire and seek approval to continue to use the Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) procurement framework up to a new level of spend to purchase electronic RTI bus stop information displays and associated back office systems.

That the Cabinet Member:
a)Notes the development of the Real Time Information (RTI) system in Derbyshire since 2018.
b) Agrees to retrospectively extend the level of spending allowed on the Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) procurement framework from £0.6m to £0.99m to take account of the £399,000 allocated for RTI schemes in the 2021-22 Local Transport Plan capital programme.
c)Agrees to further extend the overall spending allowed on the NCC RTI procurement framework to a maximum of £3.7m by January 2024, to take account of the proposals in the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).

11.1The RTI system has developed quickly over the last three years and has been popular with bus passengers. Funding to develop this project has come from a variety of external sources as well as the Local Transport Plan capital programme.
11.2Continuing to use the NCC procurement framework will allow the Council to continue to deliver the RTI program in a timely and cost efficient manner.

6.1Do nothing and end the current use of Nottinghamshire framework and have no replacement arrangement in place to procure RTI equipment - This is not considered an appropriate option given the need to complete the current 2021-22 Local Transport Plan RTI schemes before March 2022 and to have suppliers in place from April 2022 for the start of the BSIP programme.
6.2Set up the Council’s own procurement arrangement for RTI This is not considered a practical option as the Council would need to engage with suppliers and service providers to produce a new set of purchasing agreements. This would take months to complete as it would require the setting up and managing of a number of complex contracts. It would be impossible to reach the level of savings the Council currently achieves from using the current NCC framework arrangement due to recent increase in costs for such equipment as a result of shortages in the market for sign components. The data handling and delivery arrangements between any new supplier and the existing system would also create a massively complicated system and would be incredibly difficult to resolve in the time available. This alternative is therefore not recommended.