In Harsh Response to Cubic’s Lawsuit, Transport for London Contends It Could have Rejected Vendor on Several Grounds
Transport for London contends that it would have rejected Cubic Transportation Systems’ tender for the agency’s revenue-collection contract even if the vendor had not been automatically knocked out of the competition by failing the first technical question, TfL states in its first response to Cubic’s lawsuit.
The transport agency’s highly critical response or defense, filed just days ago in the High Court of Justice in London, largely reveals for the first time why TfL chose Indra Systems over Cubic.
Cubic Contends It was Low Bidder and should have Won London Contract; Claims Unfair Treatment, Possible Conflict of Interest as Details of Lawsuit Emerge
Cubic Transportation Systems contends that it submitted a lower bid than rival Indra Systems for Transport for London’s revenue-collection contract and says it should have won the contract but alleges it was treated unfairly in the competition for the lucrative deal.
Cubic made the claims in its lawsuit against TfL seeking to overturn the agency’s decision in July to award the contract to Indra. Among the problems that Cubic’s lawyers spotlighted in their particulars of claim filing for the suit was the fact that two former TfL employees work for consulting firm Rebel Group, which advised Indra on its bid–raising the potential for a conflict of interest. (Download the particulars of claim, which lays out Cubic’s legal case, below.)
Tip Sheet: Cubic Believed to be Sole Vendor in Running for Sydney Deal; TfL: Revenue-Collection Procurement Not Over Yet; Madrid Seeks ABT System
Latest Intelligence on Sydney, London and Madrid procurements. Have a tip for the Tip Sheet? Write to contact@mobility-payments.com
It’s looking more and more likely that Cubic Transportation Systems is the sole supplier still in the running for Transport for New South Wales’ back-office contract, thanks, at least in part, to concessions
Indra Executive Says Vendor would Not have Relied Only on Price to Beat Cubic in London
Spain-based Indra Systems suggested that it beat out incumbent Cubic Transportation Systems for the award of London’s integrated revenue-collection contract because of a combination of factors, not only price, an Indra executive told Mobility Payments.
A contract signing for Indra, however, depends on whether Cubic is successful in its legal challenge to the contract award. Cubic filed the challenge Aug. 8, as Mobility Payments reported. Transport for London’s finance committee awarded the contract July 14, according to TfL officials, who have not revealed which vendor won.
The Indra executive, who could not be named because he was not authorized to speak about the London procurement, spoke with Mobility Payments in recent weeks. At times his comments drifted into the hypothetical. Most of the time they were squarely focused on why Indra would have beaten Cubic.
Cubic Execs Seek to Calm Worries among Agencies and Employees as Its Poor Showing in London and Lawsuit against TfL Sink in
Less than a week after the stunning disclosure by Cubic that it had filed a lawsuit against Transport for London seeking to challenge the loss of the agency’s coveted revenue-collection contract, executives are trying to allay concerns among other transport agencies and employees.
In a previously scheduled “town hall” meeting
Breaking: Cubic Transportation Systems Files Legal Challenge to Transport for London Decision on Revenue-Collection Contract Award
Cubic Transportation Systems president Peter Montgomery-Torrellas told employees today that the vendor was legally challenging the decision last month by Transport for London on award of its lucrative revenue-collection contract. While Montgomery-Torrellas didn’t mention it in his memo (see below), there is no doubt now that TfL had awarded the contract to Cubic rival Indra Systems of Spain.
The companywide memo confirms a report by Mobility Payments yesterday that Cubic was likely planning to challenge the award, approved by Transport for London’s finance committee July 14.
Is Cubic Challenging London Decision? Sources Say Vendor Sent ‘Letter’ to TfL about Contract Award; CEO Today Said Contract ‘Still in a Standstill Period’
Cubic Corp. Chairman and CEO Stevan Slijepcevic, when asked during a companywide “town hall” meeting for employees today about the status of the London revenue-collection contract, said that the vendor is “still in a standstill period and thus cannot legally talk about it.”
If true, it would mean Transport for London’s large operations and maintenance contract has not yet been signed, despite the agency’s finance committee awarding the contract July 14, as Mobility Payments reported. The question is, why hasn’t TfL signed the deal?
‘Standstill’ Period Could End as Soon as Tomorrow; Will Transport for London Sign Revenue-Collection Contract Soon?
Transport for London is citing UK procurement law in response to questions from Mobility Payments about when it will announce the winner of its revenue-collection contract, which a TfL board committee awarded 10 days ago.
At issue appears to be the “standstill” period that is part of UK procurement legislation. Under the law that applies to the agency’s current revenue-collection contract procurement–the Public Contracts Regulations 2015–a public agency on a competitive procurement can’t enter into a contract for a minimum of 10 calendar days after notifying each bidder of the contract award.
Transport for London Committee Approves New Revenue-Collection Contract, but Agency Stays Mum on Winner; Speculation Grows
Transport for London’s finance committee approved the agency’s new revenue-collection contract earlier this week, but the agency declines to say who won, promising only that the winning vendor will be announced “in due course.”
As Mobility Payments reported on Friday, the committee’s much-anticipated decision determined whether TfL would stay with its long-term incumbent, U.S.-based Cubic Transportation Systems, or switch to challenger Indra Systems of Spain. These were the two short-listed vendors for the contract, as Mobility Payments has reported.
London Contract Award Decision Imminent; Cubic Faces Challenge from Spain’s Indra
Transport for London’s finance committee is scheduled to take a key vote on the proposed award of the agency’s new revenue-collection contract on Monday.
The much-anticipated contract decision is expected to be worth nearly