Calgary Transit has agreed give a company whose contract was cancelled in 2012 another chance to come up with terms for a new contract for an electronic fare collection system for the city.
Telvent was originally contracted by the city in 2010 to deliver an EFC system called CONNECT to Calgarians but ran into problems and failed to complete the project.
The contract was cancelled in late 2012 and transit says Telvent continued to work on the system for several months at its own expense.
Ttransit officials met with the company and agreed to work with Telvent to see if terms could be met for a new contract.
“We had a look at this work and feel it has the potential to provide a solution that’s right for Calgary,” said Doug Morgan, Director of Calgary Transit. “We’re committed to implementing an electronic fare collection (EFC) system for our customers and want to ensure we consider all options. The Telvent option would cost tax payers millions less and be implemented about two years earlier.”
After the original contract was cancelled, transit looked into and evaluated other EFC systems in North America.
They also worked to develop a new system that would have greater functionality but say the new system would come at a significant cost and take time to implement.
Transit says it included a funding request for $11 million in the 2014 budget adjustments to support the research.
In an effort to save money and explore all the options, the city decided to re-engage Telvent and says new terms must be agreed upon by December 15, 2013.
Telvent has promised that final development of the system will follow a strict schedule and that enhanced expertise will be provided to meet the city’s needs.
The city says if it fails to reach an agreement with Telvent it will ask council for more funding to develop the system with another company.
