Tfl_scp_2473 Automated Passenger Counting Trial

1.0 Purpose of the document

This Market Brochure has been issued along with the Prior Information Notice PIN and has been produced to provide information about the Automated Passenger Counting project and the potential future procurement for a solution.

This Market Brochure aims to:

•Explain the Early Market Engagement (EME) process and provide some high-level timescales.

•Outline the project's background, objectives, and expectations of the project's solution.

2.0 The EME process & indicative timescales

This section details how the EME process will be conducted, including information on each stage in the process and the associated timescales.

Early Market Engagement process

Figure 1. EME Process

Prior Information Notice (PIN)

The PIN has been released to the market as the first stage of this Early Market Engagement, this is to inform the market of TfL's current strategy and business requirements as it pertains to passenger counting systems and how to register their interest should a supplier wish to be informed when the Market Sounding Questionnaire is released.

Market Brochure

The Market Brochure is this document and contains all the relevant and available details about the project and the associated EME activity which TfL will be undertaking. Prior

Information

Notice &

Market

Brochure

Expression of

interest

Release of

Marketing

Sounding

Questionnaire

Supplier 1:1

meetings

Decision on

next steps

4 Expression of Interest (EOI)

To express an interest for this contract, interested bidders must confirm by email to: [email protected]

You must provide:

• your single point of contact first name and surname

•your email address

•your position in the organisation

•your organisation name

Market Sounding Questionnaire (MSQ)

The MSQ seeks to obtain feedback from the market in relation to the project and its requirements. The MSQ should be read in conjunction with this Market Brochure to ensure that parties completing the MSQ understand the project and its associated objectives.

TfL expect to release the MSQ in the Week Commencing 15th April 2024. Interested parties are invited to complete the MSQ and return their responses.

Any feedback received will be reviewed, analysed, and may be considered by the project team in developing any subsequent procurement strategy for any potential procurement activity.

Supplier 1:1 Meetings

After receiving and reviewing the MSQ responses, TfL may invite individual suppliers to engage in further 1:1 supplier meetings to discuss and clarify the supplier's response. EME Feedback and Next Steps

Following the EME process, TfL will provide feedback on our findings to all parties that have indicated interest and in the event that TfL proceeds with any procurement such information will be included in the relevant procurement documents.

Indicative Timescales

Please note that the below timescales are indicative only and are subject to change.

Prior Information Notice (PIN) Published

28th March 2024

Market Sounding Questionnaire Release

15th April 2024 MSQ Response Deadline

2nd May 2024 Supplier 1:1 meetings

13th - 23rd May 2024

5

3.0 Automated Passenger Counting Project

Background

The Mayor's Transport Strategy (MTS) seeks to "deliver real-time data, information and visualisations for the Tube, rail, buses and streets to improve the communication of overcrowding and congestion information to customers". The Bus Action Plan, formulated in line with the MTS, further commits to "renewing and improving our bus customer information systems and infrastructure, to provide the live arrival, disruption, crowding and congestion information our customers need to feel in control of their journeys".

With accurate and live bus crowding data available from Automated Passenger Counting (APC), we will be able to help:

•

Passengers - empowering our customers to make more informed travel decisions when planning a bus journey and letting them know what to expect prior to boarding.

•

Service Controllers - allowing for more informed decision making by knowing passenger loading (bus occupancy) for each vehicle in service.

•

Traffic management - enabling traffic light control systems to favour crowded buses.

•

Service Planners - creating access to more accurate passenger flow information; and

•

Drivers - affording them a clearer indication of how crowded a bus is when their immediate view is blocked.

TfL aims to improve provision of data for bus customers on how busy a bus is. A customer needs to know how busy a given bus of interest is at a given point in time.

•

"Bus of interest" is a specific bus which will be in service on a route and will be approaching or arrived at a stop, i.e. some kind of stop-related context. Whilst the customer is not necessarily concerned with the identity of the bus it must be uniquely identifiable (fleet or registration number).

•

"How busy" is an indication of space available (or not available) on a bus and will involve occupancy and capacity.

Proof of Concept trials

The section below outlines proof of concept trials TfL has completed up to this stage to gather information on APC technologies.

In 2017/18 TfL conducted a market sounding exercise on the passenger counting technologies available in the market:

•

Footfall cameras

•

CCTV analytics

•

Sensors over each set of doors

•

Telematics

6

•

Historical travel data held in TfL's data warehouse

•

Wi-Fi detection

Phase I of the trial was a three-month testing period on a number of buses fitted with one of the technologies outlined above. The report recommended that footfall cameras, sensors and telematics be considered for Phase 2. It noted that the reported low accuracy of CCTV analytics was contrary to market intelligence and suggested that further work be done to improve the performance of the technology involved.

TfL launched a more targeted market engagement in 2019 to examine in more detail the options for CCTV analytics as a passenger counting solution. A subsequent Request for Proposals from software and har…