2016-08-09 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                 9 AUGUST 2016


2.     Negotiations
Council and Higer Bus & Coach have had ongoing negotiations regarding the lease agreement
for the delivery of the buses, and Council’s request for contract performance security in the form
of bank guarantees. An update on these is provided below.

a.     Programme

With the aim of all outstanding items being resolved to Council’s satisfaction and a lease
agreement signed during the week of 8-12 August 2016, bus delivery is expected to take 28
weeks (7 months) arriving approximately the 20-24 February 2017. Subject to no further
extensions, the six-month trial would conclude on 25 August 2017.

Key dates during the trial period include:
   Easter School Holidays (Qld) 31 March – 18 April 2017
   Easter week-end 14-17 April 2017
   Proposed Free Holiday Buses 8 – 17 April 2017

b.     Contract Performance Security

Council staff has sought a detailed management plan from Higer Bus & Coach which is to cover
the management of key performance indicators and risks to the contract. To date Higer Bus &
Coach have provided a draft project management plan which Council staff and consulting
lawyers have made comment and issued back to Higer for further information. Further work is
required on this issue, and Council staff will continue to work with Higer Bus & Coach to ensure it
is satisfied with their ability to manage risks to the project.

Previous Council Consideration

Ordinary Meeting, 19 May 2016, Item 1, Page 13
That Council note the report by the Project Officer to the General Committee Meeting dated 16
May 2016 and the Further Report to the Ordinary Meeting dated 19 May 2016 and
A.     Nominate Higer Bus & Coach as the preferred supplier for Contract 1516T067 for a six
       month lease cost of $131,200 (excl GST) subject to the capacity of the local Energex
       infrastructure at Noosa Junction Bus Station and Diyan Street, Tewantin.
B.     Delegate authority to the Chief Executive Officer to negotiate and agree to any remaining
       items requiring clarification and to award Contract 1516T067 to Higer Bus & Coach subject
       to satisfactory compliance with the remaining conditions.
C.     Authorise the CEO to negotiate with TransLink, Sunbus and Higer Bus and Coach
       regarding the implementation, monitoring and reporting of the live trial; and
D.     Approve the funding of the live trial to a maximum of $508,530 to be met from the Public
       Transport Levy Reserve.

Risk

This project is an Australian first bespoke project and imposes risks throughout the project
including:

1.     Deliverability

As described above, Council staff are working with Higer Bus & Coach to manage the risks within
respective controls, however the fact that there are numerous operators and parties involved in
the design, manufacturer and delivery it is still a relatively high risk to delivery.


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