At the beginning of October this year, we were informed:
Transport for London is assessing bids from IBM and Capita to run the capital’s congestion charging scheme. The current contract, which is help by IBM, expires on 31 October 2015.
This February the TfL board agreed to re-let the contract and the notice processing service contract in a combined open procurement process. NSL currently holds the notice processing service.
Paul Cowperthwaite, TfL's general manager for congestion charging, said: "IBM is contracted to run the congestion charging and low emission zone schemes until October 2015. We are currently undertaking a procurement process to appoint a company to operate the schemes from this date.”
A spokesperson claimed that TfL would not be able to comment on the bidders for the duration of the procurement process and said that "customer satisfaction, was at an all-time high under IBM".
He also said the pair will continue their ‘excellent’ working relationship until the end of the contract.
But now we can reveal this not to be the case.
last week, TfL made a decision at a secret meeting behind closed doors, on who should run the congestion charge processing operation. They will not be officially announcing until January, but we have been informed by a TfL insider it's going to be... CAPITA!
The congestion charge contract is poised to return to Capita
Now, you might think it took them ages and they only reached this decision after carefully weighing up all the companies that bid for the lucrative contract, but you'd be wrong.
IBM pulled out of the bidding - the Evening Standard reported this (in a tiny piece) in mid-October. Plus, several other companies pulled out, which just left NSL and Capita.
We have been Informed, Capita have been GIFTED the offender tagging contract as well , because of alleged malfeasance and incompetence from SERCO and G4S.
It is alleged by our informant, the government gave a 'golden handshake to Capita of £20M to run the offender tagging op in the interim, which should see them as obvious favourites for the contract when it comes up for tender next year.
Why did other companies pulled out the bidding?
Possibly because they can't compete with Capita's low pricing!
In 2011 Capita were given a 5 year deal with the DVLA after an extremely low bid, but had to be 'released' two years later, despite having 3 years left on the contract.
TfL haven't had much luck awarding contracts over the last few years. Corruption at SGS was followed by disastrous delays in printed materials, such as the all new digital Bills and IDs, delayed from March 2013 and only now just starting to appear.
And now we have the scandal of the Licence renewals.
Many drivers will be facing the busy Christmas period, unable to work after unexpected, unexplained delays suddenly appeared in the new CRB check system. The situation became so bad, administrators at Palestra turned off help lines, when they were swamped by angry calls from affected drivers.
This work has recently been outsource by TfL in a bid to cut the budget (at all costs) and it has proved to be disastrous. Again, TfL see affected drivers as no more than collateral damage.
Together with Sir Peter Hendy's personal insistence not to issue temporary licenses anymore, as was the procedure in the past, this alone has lead to Taxi drivers and their families struggling financially with no foreseeable solution in the neat future.
Most cabbies now feel that TfL are unfit for purpose and that a Parliamentary select committee investigation into their bias and belligerent treatment towards the trade, is long overdue.
