‘What went Wrong?’: Why Most Vendors were No-Shows When It Came Time to Bid on Warsaw’s Fare Project
Warsaw public transport authority ZTM has yet to award a contract to the lone vendor that bid on its tender request, in what industry suppliers and market observers have said is a flawed procurement model.
A ZTM spokesman told Mobility Payments it is still “analyzing” the sole offer to build and operate its planned fare system that asks the winning vendor to front the costs for more than 10,000 new validators, develop a back office and pay for other capital expenditures.
Procurement Model in Poland Asked Vendors to Front Costs for CapEx in Exchange for Ticketing Revenue; Most Vendors Said, ‘No Thanks’
Transport agency ZTM Warsaw in Poland floated the idea around 18 months ago of taking a CapEx-free approach to procuring its new fare system. It would order 12,000 validators and other capital expenditures, offering to pay vendors fees once ticket revenue was flowing in.
The question was, would vendors go along with the idea, given that they would be taking on more risk and finance costs to implement the new ticketing system, while their compensation could be delayed. The answer now appears to be in:
Five Vendors or Groups Express Interest in Fare-System Project in Poland, including Conduent and Cubic
Warsaw transport authority ZTM has prequalified five vendors or vendor groups to bid on its forthcoming RFP for a new account-based ticketing system, which will support open-loop payments, Mobility Payments has learned.
The five qualified suppliers or groups includes U.S.-based Conduent, the incumbent