Involving regional decision making bodies
1 Local decision making bodies (such as Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs)) have plans for other transport modes that need to be integrated into the long term planning of the rail network. Consultation generally works well at the specification stage, with options for increases or reductions in services. Local bodies, however, are not closely involved in bid evaluation and subsequent negotiations.
The Department should include additional local expertise when negotiating franchises, for example, by making use of short term secondments from relevant PTEs. These secondees would provide local knowledge to support the Department's evaluation of bid options.
Evaluating alternative options in bids
2 When interviewed, most companies admitted that they do not put as much effort into working up requested options as they do on meeting the base level specification. As a result, the alternative options are priced on a 'take it or leave it' basis and may not be fully specified.
In the technical evaluation, the Department should consider taking into account the value for money and affordability of options. This approach would provide bidders with greater incentives to develop options competitively. The number of such options should be limited to avoid an excessive increase in bid costs.