Outline solutions questionnaire - Dorsetforyou.com

Dorset Passenger Transport Procurement
Outline Solution Submission
Dear Supplier
You are invited to participate in the competitive dialogue stage of the Dorset
Passenger Transport Procurement (T18418) and to submit an outline solution.
This is the next stage of the competitive dialogue process and you are
included because you have been successful at the PQQ stage of the
procurement.
Introduction and instructions
This is the stage where you have the opportunity to put together your ideas of
what type of service you can offer. You have the opportunity to talk to the
council to help shape your answers.
You will then be asked to submit the solutions and these will be assessed by
the council. Following the assessment, bidders will be short listed and the
successful ones will be invited to submit a tender.
Bidders are invited to submit detailed solutions for Dorset County Council’s
Passenger Transport Partnership by answering the questions set out in this
document.
The questions are to be completed by the lead bidder of any consortium if
applicable.
Please note that the form is the same for all operators and so it is
acknowledged that the level of detail that you give will vary, but please
provide as much information and detail as possible. (Continue on a separate
sheet if you need to).
Please mark a section N/A if you do not feel that a question is relevant to your
business. Do not think that you will not be considered simply because of the
size and scope of your business. We welcome diverse applications and
proposals.
Hopefully the Bidders Briefing Session will have given you a clear idea of the
steps you need to take to be included in the work to develop passenger
transport for people in Dorset and of our wish to continue working with a
variety of providers, both big and small.
Below is the link to Dorset Passenger Transport Procurement Web page. All
of the procurement pack documentation can be found here and any questions
or clarifications that come up through the competitive dialogue process will be
recorded here so everyone has access to the information.
www.dorsetforyou.com/passengertender

Contact Information
a. Name of the organisation completing this outline submission of outline
solution. (Lead bidder in the consortium).
b. Address. Official Address of Bidder (or lead Bidder)
c. Person dealing with the application on behalf of the organisation and
contact details
Your Outline Solutions should be provided in both hard copy and electronic
format. One hard copy should be returned to Kelly Forrester, Senior Category
Manager, Dorset Procurement, Level 2, East Wing, County Hall, Colliton Park,
Dorchester DT1 1XJ.
An electronic copy should be sent to the following address
dp@dorsetcc.gov.uk

Evaluation of outline submissions
The Council will evaluate bidders’ responses to this invitation to submit outline
solutions by applying the following scoring system.
Invitation to Submit Outline Solution
Questions
Weighting
1 Customer Care 20%
2 Contract Performance and Quality 20%
3 Partnership working and Contract
15%
Management
4 Assets - Depot, vehicles and equipment 15%
5 Staffing issues 10%
6 Innovation 10%
7 Payment process 5%
8 Environmental and sustainability issues 5%
9 Capacity and resource. Scope of Contract
10 Consortium Structure (Consortium bids
only)
100%
Please refer to the enclosed information and maps to help shape your
answers.

Outline solutions questionnaire
1) Customer Care
The council is responsible for the passenger transport of many vulnerable
people. An appropriate level of care is required.
What is your proposed approach to customer care?
How will you deal will customer complaints and queries?
What are your proposed communication methods with the council and with
customers?
Give details on your ideas for joint marketing and communications for
passenger transport provision in Dorset.
Outline what steps you would take to facilitate a quality service to vulnerable
people.

2) Contract Performance and Quality
Please give information on how you will monitor performance during this
contract. How will you set business goals and review your progress?
Please propose suitable performance and incentive mechanisms. We
particularly welcome innovative and cost effective ideas for rewarding
exceptional performance (e.g. bonus/penalty schemes). Where applicable
indicate where these will tie into the collection of data for Public Transport
National Indicators on a route by route basis.
How do you ensure that you comply with all current legislative operational
requirements for your organisation? E.g. operator’s license, driver’s hours,
Certificate of Professional Competence, inspection regimes or Taxi licensing,
insurance requirements?
Describe what you consider the major contract risks are and how they would
be dealt with.

3) Partnership working and contract management.
How do you propose to support close and effective working with the Council?
Please describe how you would work with the council and potentially other
providers of transport to agree service delivery levels and to achieve
improvements.
What ideas do you have for joint or reciprocal working? Consider the possible
use of council assets and services e.g. depots, vehicles, vehicle maintenance,
training or call centre.
Please describe your proposals for contract management. Consider they type
of management information that would be shared, the relationship and
frequency of contact.

4) Assets - depot, vehicles and equipment
Please outline your proposals for the use of depot/s, vehicles and equipment.
Include information on your current vehicle/fleet size and lease arrangements
where applicable. Also include the overall capacity and resources you have.
Describe any assets and/ or resources that you intend to acquire to meet any
service delivery aspirations and why?
Describe your maintenance regimes and vehicle back-up.
State the location of any depots and /or offices and how these will ensure
customer service in response to needs e.g. your ability to provide back up in
an emergency.

5) Staffing issues
Please give detail about any additional training given (other than that already
mentioned at PQQ stage) to staff e.g. driver and call handling training.
What are your arrangements to help achieve driver Certificate of Professional
Competence?
Consider where you could work more closely with Dorset Passenger
Transport. For example, staff secondments or driver recruitment. Note that the
council is an accredited provider of driver Certificate of Professional
Competence.
Please outline your proposals in relation to the application of the Transfer of
Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulation 1981 (TUPE) to this
project, having regard to the information contained in the Information Pack.
Reference should be made to proposals for retaining or re-deploying any staff.
If any members of your consortium have previously been involved in TUPE
transfers, please provide outline details of the approach taken, and of the
ways in which such experience may be brought to bear in your approach to
this project.

6) Innovation
We expect partnership working to bring about innovation and creative ways to
improve the service delivery. What proposals do you have for improving how
passenger transport is delivered in Dorset? What ideas do you have for
sharing cost and efficiency gains?
Consider the following:
Continual Improvement – how you would propose to deliver efficiency
savings in future years and continually improve the service that you offer, e.g.
the on-going designs of routes.
Operational Processes – Describe any ideas you have for integrating your
processes with the council, including the use of ICT/communication systems
(e.g. electronic ordering, performance data and billing).
Where applicable include any information about implementing your ideas,
where you see any barriers and any relevant costing information.

7) Payment Processes
Please provide details on how you would propose to charge for your services
(e.g. cost per journey, per mile, per week, fixed and variable charge etc.) and
the payment methods you would consider (e.g. online invoicing)
Note:
With effect from 1 st October 2009, Dorset County Council will be introducing
SAP, an electronic back office system to manage Procurement, Finance and
Human Resources. This system has been implemented successfully in many
councils, businesses and other organisations and brings considerable benefits
in terms of efficiencies for users and, for suppliers in terms of quicker
payments.
The introduction of SAP will bring about a number of important changes to our
current ‘procure to pay’ process. These changes are listed below:
All orders will be submitted electronically through email
All invoices must quote a SAP order number and will be paid by the
Councils centralised accounts processing team electronically through BACS
Where appropriate, suppliers will be required to provide their core price list
in catalogue format. A template will be provided for completion.
More details will be provided as the procurement advances.

8) Environmental and sustainability issues
Please provide information on your contributions to carbon reduction and the
recycling of waste, vehicles and equipment at the end of their life, e.g. fuel
efficiency, alternative and less polluting fuels, newer vehicles. Please describe
any cost implications you think are relevant.
What ideas do you have for joint working with the council to promote
sustainability? E.g. community initiatives for reducing our environmental
impact or reduction in waste.

9) Capacity and resource. Scope of Contract.
Please describe the area/s of service delivery that you wish to provide.
Consider which categories (listed below) that you are interested in contracting
for and if there are any areas you would plan to develop services in. For
further information on the service categories please refer to the “Description of
Service” sheet included in your procurement pack.
Your answer should indicate:
Which services would be of interest to your organisation
What geographical area of Dorset would be of interest to your
organisation
The number and type of vehicles you would have available to provide
the service.
Most appropriate contract period for your proposal.
Service Categories
Fig.1
Home to school and college transport
Adult transport including day care, social care and
other needs
Special educational needs transport (SEN)
Subsidised public transport
Community transport
Children’s social care
Children out of school
Identify and provide details on any areas of the contract, which your company
would normally sub-contract.

10) Consortium Structure (Consortium bids only)
What consortium structure do you intend to utilise for this contract? Your
response should incorporate comments on:
The use of a special purpose vehicle or other structure and any intention
to make this a limited company.
The role of each member in terms of service delivery.
Parent company guarantees or similar arrangements
Funding for capital investment

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000
Dorset County Council is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of
Information (F.O.I.) Act. If you consider that any information supplied in/with
the questionnaire is either commercially sensitive or confidential in nature, this
should be highlighted and the reasons for its sensitivity, given. Dorset County
Council will consult with you about sensitive information prior to making a
decision on any Freedom of Information Request received.
Conversely, if you consider that the information you have provided is not of a
sensitive or commercial nature, therefore may be available for release to a
third party if requested please state.

DECLARATION
A declaration in the form specified below must be completed
I/We certify that the information supplied in this application is complete and
accurate to the best of my/our knowledge and belief.
I/We understand that it is a criminal offence punishable by a fine or
imprisonment, to give or offer any gift or consideration whatsoever as an
inducement or reward to any servant of a public body. Any such action would
empower the Council to cancel any contract currently in force.
Signed ……………………………………………………………………..
Name printed……………………………………………………………….
Position in company………………………………………………………..
For and on behalf of……………………………………………………….
(Name of Company)
NOTES:
1) This application should be signed by the applicant in person or
by a duly authorised partner in the case of a partnership, or by a
duly authorised Director or Company Secretary in the case of a
Limited Company.
2) Before returning this form, please ensure that you have
answered all the questions in the sections required.
FAILURE TO DO SO MAY RESULT IN YOUR EXCLUSION FROM
THE LIST OF TENDERERS.
Please return by the closing date of Friday 4 th September 2009 by 2pm
to:
dp@dorsetcc.gov.uk or
Dorset Procurement
Dorset County Council
Dorset Procurement
County Hall
Colliton Park
Dorchester DT1 1XJ