TransCore get BATA toll system contract, Telvent to do Pocahontas Parkway

TransCore have the contract to modernize the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) toll systems for their seven toll bridges. The $35.42m (not-to-exceed $38.96m) contract will replace the first electronic toll (ET) supporting system ATCAS (Advanced Toll Collection and Accounting System) installed with great difficulty in the late 1990s.

The new project called ATCAS II will provide new in-lane equipment - treadles, light curtains, new TransCore Encompass-6 readers, cash toll equipment - and new plaza host hardware and software and six years of support. The new system will have provision for variable pricing by time of day and ability to handle toll express lanes in area freeways.

Some violation system work is being implemented under a separate procurement.

The new system supports essentially the same configuration of 70 mostly stop-to-pay cash or electronic toll (ET) called mixed lanes and roll-through electronic toll only (ET-only) lanes as presently exist.

BATA has only three open road toll lanes - at the Benicia-Martinez Bridge toll plaza.

The bridges and number of toll lanes is:

- Antioch Bridge: 2 mixed lanes, 1 ET-only lane, 3 total

- Benicia-Martinez Bridge: 9 mixed lanes, 3 open road toll lanes, 12 total

- Carquinez Bridge: 7 mixed lanes, 5 ET-only lanes, 12 total

- Dumbarton Bridge: 4 mixed lanes, 2 ET-only lanes, 1 HOV lane, 6 total toll lanes

- Richmond-San Rafael Bridge: 5 mixed lanes, 2 ET-only lanes, 7 total

- San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge: 14 mixed lanes, 6 ET-only lanes, 2 HOV lanes, 20 total toll lanes

- San Mateo-Hayward Bridge: 5 mixed lanes, 5 ET-only lanes, 10 toll lanes total

That's a total of 70 toll lanes comprising 46 mixed lanes, 21 ET-only lanes, and 3 open road toll lanes.

BATA does 340 to 350k transactions average per day. Tolling on the bridges is one direction only - westbound.

5 firms to 2 to 1

Five firms made proposals: ACS, ETC, Indra, TransCore, TRMI.  After an initial evaluation the field was narrowed to two - TransCore and ETC - for interviews and final evaluation. BATA's selection committee visited other tollers where TransCore and ETC had systems operational. After BATA questions and answers and discussion with the two finalists, they adjusted their proposals and made best and final offers, which were then scored.

The BATA panel unanimously recommended TransCore. The weighted scoring was 761 to 663.

Weighting was heaviest for approach (30), qualifications and experience of key staff (25),  qualifications and experience of the proposer and subs (20), and much lower for schedule (10), system flexibility (8), and price only 7.

The report said that TransCore's proposal was clearly written and demonstrated an understanding of BATA's system and needs.  They said the experience and qualifications score reflected "positive reference checks," a history of meeting performance requirements and extensive experience with different toll systems, lane types and geometries.

TransCore beat ETC most decisively in their proposed 'approach' including the reporting system and controls (8 to 6), qualifications and experience of proposer and subs (8 to 6) and system flexibility (7 to 5).

ETC won on the qualifications and experience of key staff (8 to 7). They tied on the schedule for implementation.

TransCore won on price (10 to 9).

The panel's report says that allowing for adjusted violation system costs the ETC bid was $2.1m higher than TransCore.

The not-to-exceed price is comprised: design and installation $18.24m, warranty $2.38m, maintenance for 6 years $14.8m, 10% contingency $3.54m.

HISTORY: ATCAS was probably the most troubled of all electronic toll startups in the US. Under Caltrans management the contractor was the now defunct MFS company, a WorldCom spinoff. The RFP was 1994, first lane operation was July 1997, full lanes operation was end 2001, and full acceptance was 2004. Nowhere else has a procurement been a decade long.

Also in that year BATA, which had taken over the bridges from Caltrans had ACS do a major upgrade of the system.

on BATA RFP issued Jan 2009 http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/3944

on 2004 upgrade http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/561

see Oct 2000 report http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/2794

problems at Carquinez Bridge Nov 1996 http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/1922

see July 1996 report on difficulties with classification system http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/2078

June 1996 report: http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/1874

Telvent to provide new toll system for Pocahontas Parkway

Telvent has been given the contract to rebuild the toll system at the Pocahontas 895  Parkway in Richmond VA. They will replace a toll system installed by InTranS when the tollroad was opened in the summer of 2002.

Telvent will add ramp tolls for the Airport Connector spur now under construction.

Pocahontas 895 parkway is operated by Australia-based Transurban under a longterm concesssion negotiated in 2006. The project was developed a decade back by a not-for-profit that was failing financially when Transurban was brought in.

The project has continued to do poorly. Development expected along the route has not happened. Traffic is only 14.1k/day and toll revenue less than $15m/yr.

The toll system has a mainline plaza with 2+ 2 open road toll lanes and 2x3 mixed lanes (picture nearby). The single interchange at Laburnum Avenue has a pair of ramp tolls, single toll lanes that take cash or transponders.

Another pair of ramp tolls at the new Airport Connector for east facing ramps will collect tolls from traffic not going through the mainline plaza located toward the western end of the tollroad.

Transurban told us they have provided $7m for the new toll system but declined to provide further details on the procurement. (CORRECTION 2009-11-19)

Telvent will install a new Remote Operations and Maintenance System (ROMS) and its special TollPro back office violations processing. Telvent also has major toll systems projects in Central Texas and at MBAB&T in New York City.

on Transurban takeover of Pocahontas Parkway:

http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/1516

TOLLROADSnews 2009-11-16  CORRECTION 2009-11-19 14:30