Provision of a Cashless Parking Payment Solution

AI-generated analysis of the documents. Check the official notice and any amendments for current submission details.

1. At a glance

2. Scope of Work

The contract requires the provision, management, and maintenance of a digital solution for cashless parking payments within County Cavan. This encompasses a comprehensive digital platform designed for consumer convenience and efficient administrative operation.

The core activities and components include:

• Digital Payment Platform:
• Facilitating cashless parking transactions for on-street and off-street parking.
• Supporting account holders and one-off users through user-friendly interfaces.
• Offering multiple interface channels: SMS, smartphone applications, online, interactive voice response (IVR).
• Accepting various payment methods: payment cards, mobile phone billing, retail transactions.
• Customer and Support Services:
• Providing customer and online support to enhance service delivery.
• Ensuring seamless, non-interrupted service delivery for parking customers.
• Back-Office Operations:
• Supplying back-office software for reporting, analysis, and customer query resolution.
• Providing management reporting data for financial management and service delivery.
• Financial Management:
• Settling collected monies monthly with the Council.
• Holding customer funds in an escrow/trust account.
• Ensuring all card payments comply with PCI DSS Standards, with annual confirmation required.
• Integration and Strategy:
• Integrating fully with enforcement and other service provider technologies to support the Council's parking strategy. Integration with Globe Tech Parking software is a current requirement.
• Developing and implementing a marketing strategy to increase digital payment uptake.
• Continuously developing and deploying innovations aligned with industry standards and the Council's parking strategy.
• Operational Management:
• Ensuring reliability and fault management, including system and data availability, backup, and recovery.
• Implementing robust system and data security measures, with data hosted in an EU data centre certified to ISO27001 or equivalent.
• Managing performance, including flexibility, scalability, and capacity for growth.
• Handling data management, ensuring ownership and availability of usage data.
• Providing access to reporting and auditing arrangements.
• Managing customer engagement and service delivery.
• Facilitating financial reporting split by town and by on-street/off-street parking.
• Proposing innovations and value-added services at no additional cost to the Council.
• Implementation and Transition:
• Planning and executing a seamless implementation, including integration with Council services.
• Onboarding new customers to the service.
• Managing handover to an incoming contractor upon termination.
• Providing Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity plans for commencement and termination phases.
• Branding:
• Providing a Council-branded application.
• Enforcement Integration:
• Enabling the solution to integrate with the Council’s parking enforcement software to automatically query parking payment status.
• Customer Support:
• Providing detailed descriptions of customer interfaces and support arrangements.
• Measuring and monitoring customer engagement and satisfaction using methodologies like Net Promoter Score.
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
• Proposing KPIs including targets for the percentage of overall payments, number of monthly users, and customer satisfaction.
• Financial Reconciliation:
• Implementing detailed financial reconciliation processes for all monies processed.
• Providing a single monthly electronic lodgement of monies and a detailed monthly statement.
• Data Security:
• Ensuring all data is hosted in an EU data centre.
• Complying with Data Protection legislation and providing a Data Protection policy.
• Providing evidence of ISO27001 certification or equivalent for information security arrangements.
• Complying with current Cyber Security Baseline Standards.
• Safety, Health, and Welfare:
• Complying with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and relevant regulations.
• Complying with the Contracting Authority’s Occupational Health & Safety Management System.

3. Background & buyer context

Cavan County Council is procuring a digital solution to modernise its parking payment system. The initiative aims to future-proof parking arrangements by offering a flexible, convenient, and functional cashless payment option for motorists. This aligns with a broader objective to increase customer uptake of digital payment channels. The current parking revenue is approximately €500,000 annually, with cashless payments representing about 15% (€75,000) in 2025. The Council seeks to grow this digital proportion through innovative solutions and marketing. The procurement is conducted under an open procedure, indicating a desire for competitive market engagement.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

Bidders must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered:

• Turnover requirement:
• Average annual turnover exceeding €100,000 in each of the last three years, or pro-rata if more recently established.
• The firm must have been in existence for at least 6 months.
• Insurance:
• Employer’s Liability: €13 million
• Public Liability: €6.5 million
• Product Liability: €6.5 million
• Professional Indemnity: €1 million
• Cyber Liability: €3 million
• Certifications:
• Demonstrate compliance with relevant Health & Safety legislation.
• Demonstrate compliance with relevant Environmental legislation and guidelines.
• Provide evidence that information security arrangements are certified to ISO27001 or an equivalent accreditation.
• Demonstrate compliance with current Cyber Security Baseline Standards.
• Past experience:
• Provide details of a minimum of three (3) contracts of similar scale and complexity.
• Personnel:
• Nominate a dedicated contract manager responsible for the contract's satisfactory delivery.
• Geographic / facility constraints:
• All data must be hosted in a data centre located within the EU.

5. Award criteria & scoring

The contract will be awarded based on the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT), evaluated against specific criteria with defined weightings and minimum scores. The total maximum marks available are 10,000.

• Criterion E: Technical Capacity (25%, 2,500 marks) is detailed in Section 4.4 of the RFT and covers aspects like system reliability, security, performance, data management, reporting, customer management, financial processing, innovation, marketing, and account management.

6. Submission requirements

Tenders must be submitted electronically via the eTenders portal. The following components are required:

• European Single Procurement Document (ESPD): Either electronically via eESPD on eTenders or as a separate uploaded attachment.
• Tender Response Document (TRD): This document will contain specific sections for tenderers to complete, including:
• General Information (contact details, company overview, sub-contractor/consortium details).
• Declarations (Bona Fides, compliance with statutory obligations).
• Financial Information (Tax compliance, Turnover confirmation, financial standing).
• Insurance confirmation (details of required insurances).
• Method Statement: A detailed comment on the Specification, confirming full provision of required services.
• Pricing Schedule: To be completed in full, showing rates in Euro, fixed for the contract lifetime, and exclusive of VAT.
• Details of comparable contracts (minimum of three).
• Details of proposed team and contract management approach.
• Technical capacity details as per Section 4.4 of the RFT.
• CVs: Not explicitly mentioned with page limits, but implied for key personnel within the team structure.
• Case studies: Not explicitly mentioned.
• Declarations: ESPD, Bona Fides, Tax clearance, Conflict of Interest (covered within ESPD and TRD).
• Mandatory site visit: Not specified for this tender.
• Submission portal: www.etenders.gov.ie. All documents must be submitted in PDF format unless otherwise specified.

7. Key dates & process

8. Contract terms that matter

• Term: Initial period of three (3) years.
• Extension: Two (2) one-year extensions are possible, subject to satisfactory performance, budget, and business needs.
• Payment: Charges invoiced monthly in arrears on receipt of properly itemised accounts.
• SLAs/KPIs: Key Performance Indicators will be agreed during contract initiation, including targets for % of overall payments, number of monthly users, and customer satisfaction.
• Liquidated damages: Not explicitly detailed in the provided text.
• Termination: Can be terminated by either party with not less than 3 months' prior written notice. The Council can terminate for unsatisfactory performance, fundamental breach, failure to comply with insurance/tax conditions, or failure to follow reasonable instructions.
• IP ownership: Any and all data created and/or held by the Contractor is the property of the Contracting Authority.
• Sub-contracting: No portion of the work shall be sublet or assigned; services must be provided directly by the Tenderer or a member of a joint tender.
• Guarantees/Bonds: Not specified.

9. Risks, red flags & unusuals

• Indicative Budget vs. Turnover: The indicative budget of €50,000-€100,000 is significantly lower than the €100,000 annual turnover requirement. This suggests the turnover requirement may be a standard gate rather than directly proportional to the contract value, or that the contract value is an estimate and the actual spend could be higher.
• Data Hosting Constraint: The mandatory EU data centre hosting requirement, coupled with ISO27001 certification or equivalent, narrows the field of potential providers.
• No Customer Charges: A strict requirement that proposals must not include any charges to customers is a key constraint for pricing models.
• Integration Complexity: The requirement for integration with existing enforcement software (Globe Tech Parking) and the need to demonstrate past similar integrations could favour incumbent or experienced providers.
• No Sub-contracting: The prohibition on sub-contracting limits flexibility for bidders who might typically rely on specialist partners.
• Fixed Pricing: Rates are fixed for the lifetime of the contract, requiring careful cost forecasting.

10. SME fit assessment

This tender is open to a range of businesses, but specific requirements will shape the viable bidder pool.

• Who can credibly bid: A small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) with established expertise in developing, managing, and maintaining digital payment platforms, particularly in the public sector or transport-related services. They must possess the financial standing to meet the €100,000 annual turnover threshold and hold the specified high-value insurances. Experience in integrating with enforcement systems and a strong cybersecurity posture (ISO27001) are critical.
• Consortium/Sub-contracting: Consortiums are permitted, and SMEs are encouraged to form relationships with other entities to meet capacity requirements. However, direct sub-contracting of the core services is prohibited.
• Indicative bid-prep effort: Preparing a compliant bid will require significant effort. This includes detailing the technical solution, methodology, team structure, and financial proposals. Estimating 10-20 days of focused effort for a dedicated bid team, including technical and commercial input, is reasonable.
• Pwin signal: The tender is an open procedure, suggesting no pre-determined incumbent. However, the specific integration requirements and the need for robust financial and technical capacity might favour established players. The emphasis on innovation and value-add suggests a desire for forward-thinking solutions.

11. Where to dig deeper

• Source RFT filename: Cavan CoCo RFT for Cashless Payment Solution.docx
• eTenders CFT ID: TEN2600114
• Contact for Queries: Messaging facility on www.etenders.gov.ie
• Most important attachments:
• Tender Response Document (TRD)
• Detailed Specification of Requirements (Section 3)
• Award Criteria and Weightings (Section 5)