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ITEM TIC12E

TRANSPORT IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE -
6 MAY 2004

RING-a-RIDE SERVICE OPERATION

Report by Head of Transport

1. This report updates the Committee on progress since it last reviewed the Ring-a-Ride (RAR) operation on 8 January 2004. Competitive quotation prices and specifications are currently being sought from potential service providers for the operation of a short-term RAR contract and these will be contained in a Supplementary Exempt Annex 2, to be circulated later. The Committee is asked to decide on the award of a short-term contract for the operation of a RAR service until 31 March 2005.

Reasons for Exempt Annexes

2. This item should be considered in exempt session because its discussion in public might lead to the disclosure to members of the public present of:
   
   

1. the amount of any expenditure proposed to be incurred by the Oxfordshire County Council and other local authorities and organisations under any particular contract for the acquisition of property or the supply of goods or services; and
2. information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (other than the authority).
   
   
3. The operational costs must be treated as strictly confidential since they relate to the financial and business affairs of the operator. All prices and specifications must be treated as strictly confidential until such time as the Committee decides to whom the contract should be awarded. Revealing operators’ prices and specifications before then would prejudice Oxfordshire County Council’s position if propositions have to be sought again for this service.

Background

4. On 8 January 2004, the Committee had before it a report reviewing the operation of RAR services in Oxfordshire (with the exception of those in Cherwell District which are provided by Banburyshire Community Transport Association (BCTA) under a separate funding agreement), as well as a supplementary report which has been produced on legal advice and contained a modified set of recommendations. The main report also outlined details of the potential Partnership of RAR funders.
5. At that meeting the Committee resolved as follows:
   
   

1. to pay Oxfordshire Council for Voluntary Action (OCVA) up to £24,000 to secure the continuation of the present level of service on the City and County Ring-a-Ride (RAR) services until 31 July 2004;
2. to confirm that a partnership of RAR funders should be established to co-ordinate the management of the RAR operation on behalf of the subscribing Councils, consolidate their funding and institute clearer monitoring procedures;
3. to request that officers, in the light of various comments received from the consultation, investigate how information about the availability of the RAR service could best be improved; and
4. to authorise officers to seek tenders from suitable operators for the future operation of the RAR services as from 1 August 2004 with the aim of making a recommendation to Committee on 6 May concerning a long-term contract for those services as from that date, but to agree, should the long-term future structure of the services not be finalised in time, that officers should negotiate a further short-term contract until 31 March 2005 in accordance with the County Council's Contract Procedure Rules.
   
   

Current situation

6. My officers have begun work on recommendation (d) above. However it soon became clear that formation of the funding Partnership would not be finalised in time to complete the tendering process in time for this meeting. As a result, officers have, in accordance with this recommendation and following the Council's Contract Procedure Rules, sought competitive quotations for a short-term contract to operate from 1 August 2004 until 31 March 2005 from a number of organisations which might be interested in operating these RAR services. Quotations are being requested on a "best value" basis, to be evaluated on the basis of a balance between price and the quality/range of service offered. Furthermore operators are being offered the flexibility to put forward their own proposals. This will give officers an added advantage when it comes to the preparation of tender specifications later this year for the RAR services as from 1 April 2005, since this authority has no previous experience of tendering for such services.
7. In order to arrive at a fair basis for comparison of quotations and also to ensure that operators focus on the areas which the County Council and other potential funding Partners consider to be of importance, officers have specified 16 subject headings under which operators should detail what level of service they would offer in each of these categories. These subject headings include items which have been highlighted by user groups. A copy of the memorandum which specifies these subject headings and which has been sent to operators is appended at Exempt Annex 1.
8. Officers are hoping that the requirement to specify the level of service under each of these headings will result in an improved RAR service to a wider number of potential users. Together with officers of the current District Council RAR funders, my officers will therefore evaluate quotations received on a "best value" basis, and it will be my officers' aim to seek an improved service within the financial resources, rather than a significant financial saving with a resultant diminution of service. The results of officers' evaluations together with my recommendation and the reasons for it will be reported in Supplementary Exempt Annex 2, to be circulated later.

Partnership Funding

9. Quotations for this short-term contract are being sought on the basis of both the County Council's current level of funding alone and, in the hope that agreement to proceed with the funding Partnership will be reached, of the aggregate funding of the current RAR funders. In fact all of the current District Council RAR funders have agreed, in line with the County Council's decision, to fund OCVA for the current levels of RAR services until 31 July, and they will make their decisions as to the future of the services after that date, once the competitive quotations have been received and evaluated. I will report orally on the outcome to this meeting.
10. Officers of the three Districts Councils (Vale of the White Horse, West Oxfordshire and Oxford City) are fully backing the formation of the funding Partnership and, in addition, Cherwell District Council (which funds the BCTA Dial-a-Ride operation) has given an initial welcome to the possibility of a County-wide RAR Partnership, funding and managing different providers of RAR services throughout the County. Furthermore West Oxfordshire District Council's Cabinet has already agreed on 25 February:
    
    

1. to extend the funding agreement with OCVA (with payment on a pro rata basis at the current level of annual grant: £22,643) to secure the present District service until 31 July 2004 in line with Oxfordshire County Council’s funding agreement;
2. in principle to join a partnership of RAR funders which will co-ordinate the future procurement and management of the RAR operation on behalf of the subscribing Councils, subject to a further report on the outcome of the County Council’s tendering exercise and the County’s decision on the future of County RAR services post July 2004; and
3. to request Oxfordshire County Council to seek tenders for both the existing and an expanded level of service at the same cost to enable both options to be considered.
   
   
11. It seems highly likely therefore that the funding and managing Partnership will be formed and this is to be welcomed.
12. Once the award of the short-term contract has been made, my officers will begin work on the preparation of tender specifications for a long-term contract for a RAR service to come into effect on 1 April 2005. Tenders for this service will be invited and the results reported to a meeting of this Committee in the Autumn.

Financial Implications

13. Up till now, the RAR service has been funded in accordance with the deficit funding formula agreed on 26 January 1995. The report to the Committee on 8 January 2004 detailed the RAR financial situation for the 2003/04 financial year. In essence, although the annual grant in the previous few financial years had averaged £70,000 per annum, the forecast expenditure for the 2003/04 financial year is £87,000.
14. In inviting potential operators to submit competitive quotations for the operation of the RAR service for the period 1 August 2004-31 March 2005, my officers proposed services with a County Council contribution not exceeding £50,000. This would result in a maximum County Council expenditure on RAR for the full 2004/05 financial year of £74,000, a saving of £13,000 in comparison with the forecast expenditure for 2003/04. If, however, any operator should propose a level of service for which the cost exceeds £50,000, but which in the officers' view offers significant enhancements (including value for money) compared with any other quotation, then officers will recommend accordingly.

Implications for People Living in Poverty

15. Ring-a-Ride services aim to enable extra transport opportunities for people with mobility impairments, a significant number of whom are elderly. The people who benefit from these services are more likely than other sections of the population to have low incomes. These extra transport opportunities improve access to community facilities and therefore contribute to improving the quality of life for some people living in poverty.

RECOMMENDATIONS

16. The Committee is RECOMMENDED:

1. to make its decision on the award of a short-term contract for the provision of Ring-a-Ride (RAR) services within Oxfordshire (with the exception of Cherwell District area) to operate from 1 August 2004 until 31 March 2005 on the basis of the tender prices and service specifications as set out in exempt Annex 2 to be reported subsequently; and
2. to note that officers will be seeking tenders from suitable operators for the future operation of RAR services on a long-term contract as from 1 April 2005 and that these will be reported to a meeting of this Committee in the Autumn 2004 for decision.

DAVID McKIBBIN
Head of Transport

Background papers: Correspondence with service providers and District Councils (refer to contact officer)

Contact Officer: Alan Pope Tel: Oxford 815585

April 2004

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