From what we have been told about the RFP process, the contract award for the E-ZPass Interoperability Hub awarded to ETC is fairly typical. The contract is being finalized, with covid causing some delay. The RFP was let in May 2020 and awarded in October 2021.
I am posting the award discussion/recomendation because it demonstrates the scope of the project and references ETC's strengths in its bid.
There are also two other important pieces of info, imo:
1) As a first contract with the E-ZPass group, it marks an important foot in the door (https://e-zpassiag.com/about-us/members). Note, the New Jersey RPF I posted earlier is an E-ZPass member; and
2) There is already discussion of change orders surrounding potential cybersecurity need.
This is the RFP discussion/recomendation fron October 2021:
Purpose:
Bridges and Tunnels (“B&T”) is seeking Board approval under the All-Agency General Contract Procurement Guidelines to award this competitively solicited miscellaneous procurement contract to Electronic Transaction Consultants, LLC. (“ETC”) to design, build, operate, and maintain an E-ZPass Interoperability (“EZIOP”) Hub for 10 years with one, 3-year option in the negotiated contract amount of $21,543,452. B&T will be reimbursed for the cost of these services as described below.
Discussion:
The Interagency Group (“IAG”) is an association of 34-member toll agencies in 19 states that manage the E-ZPass interoperable electronic toll collection system. The members operate independent Customer Service Centers (“CSCs”) that enroll customers, issue transponders, manage customer accounts, process transactions, and post them to the appropriate customer accounts. Each member agency (“Home agency”), under a Reciprocity agreement, consents to recognize E-ZPass tags issued by other member agencies (“Away agencies”) for toll payment for that Home agency’s toll facilities. The IAG currently provides for tolling reciprocity amongst its members via peer-to-peer file exchange methodologies that facilitate peer-to-peer settlement reporting and associated financial settlements. Currently, each IAG member is associated with a CSC that is interconnected with all other CSCs via a private Multiprotocol Label Switching network. Each member agency and their CSC are responsible for the creation and exchange of files via File Transfer Protocol servers provided by each CSC. This Contract involves the development of an IAG EZIOP Hub that will be inserted, logically, between the CSCs (now called Hub Members) to serve as a central point of communication to and from all other Hub Members and other future entities, including Regional Hubs for toll agencies outside of the E-ZPass system. This Hub will now require a CSC to interface only with the Hub, instead of every other CSC for file exchange and reporting.
The EZIOP Hub will take advantage of advances in the industry to: (1) improve the present IAG Toll Reciprocity architecture and processes, (2) provide a
robust, flexible, and easily scalable platform upon which evolving IAG business needs can be addressed, and (3)
facilitate National Toll Interoperability. The EZIOP Hub is not required to perform funding settlements, but it will generate all reports necessary to support settlements with other Regional Hubs in addition to generating settlement reports for IAG member agencies. The EZIOP Hub contractor must ensure the accuracy of data and reports used to support settlements. This EZIOP Hub contract includes developing, deploying, operating, and maintaining an EZIOP Hub. In May 2020, B&T issued a Request for Proposal (“RFP”) on behalf of the IAG members seeking proposals from vendors to design, build, operate and maintain anEZIOP Hub. Requirementsforthese services were publicly advertised. Eight firms submitted proposals: (1) Conduent State & Local Solutions, Inc; (2) DXC Technology Services LLC; (3) ETC; (4) Egis Projects, Inc.; (5) First Data Government Solutions, LP (FiServ); (6) Harp Data, LLC; (7) TollPlus, LLC; and (8) Web House.
The Evaluation Committee included members from the IAG as well as subject-matter experts from tolling and information technology. The proposals were evaluated against established criteria set forth in the RFP, including: (1) Company History; (2) Demonstrated Project Experience and Qualifications; (3) Key Project Team Experience; (4) Approach to Project Plan and Implementation; (5) Approach to Operations and Maintenance; and (6) Price.
Oral presentations were conducted with five firms: (1) ETC; (2) Conduent; (3) Egis; (4) FiServ; and (5) TollPlus. Following the oral presentations and reference checks, the proposals were reevaluated, and the Evaluation Committee recommended the IAG negotiate and request Best and Final Offers (“BAFO”) from the two highest-ranked proposal: ETC and TollPlus. After receipt of BAFOs, the Evaluation Committee unanimously recommended ETC for award as ETC was the highest-ranked proposer offering B&T the best value:
• High availability, cost-effective, redundant cloud-based system
• Flexibility and scalability for future IAG needs
• Minimal impact to IAG member back-office operations
• Lowest risk (approach)
• Lowest cost
The Evaluation Committee determined that
ETC was technically superior and provided a lower cost than TollPlus. While TollPlus provided a responsive proposal, which was viewed as technically sufficient, its price was $4.8 million higher than ETC’s.
The duration of the Contract is for 10 years:
48 months for design and implementation phases and eight years for operation and maintenance, which begins 24 months after the completion of the initial implementation phase. This Contract also contains one, 3- year option to be exercised at the IAG’s discretion, subsequent to Board approval. The BAFO of $21,543,452 is the lowest price submitted by any Proposer and is 22 percent lower than that of TollPlus. The Contract price is deemed the best value and is considered fair and reasonable. The IAG will reimburse B&T 100 percent for the cost of this contract.
The Contract resulting from this solicitation is
currently being evaluated to determine the necessity and appropriate scope, if any, for cybersecurity requirements, including any requirements under federal, state, and local law or regulation. The Authority will be working with the vendor to include applicable cybersecurity requirements prior to issuance of the notice of award. ETC is a responsible Contractor.
DBE/MBE/WBE/SDVOB Information:
The MTA Department of Diversity and Civil Rights has established goals of 10 percent MBE,10 percent WBE, and 2 percent SDVOB for this contract. ETC has submitted an MWBE utilization plan that meets the overall MWBE goal requirements.
ETC has not completed any MTA contracts; therefore, no assessment of the firms MWDBE/SDVOB performance is available at this time. Impact on
Funding:
Funding in the amount of $21,543,452 is available in the Operating Budget. The IAG will reimburse B&T 100 percent for the cost of these services.
Alternatives:
There are no recommended alternatives. The IAG does not have the resources required to perform these services internally