Transport for London (TfL) has extended its contract with NSL to manage the system for licensing taxis and private hire vehicles due to delays in the implementation of a new system.
It has published a market notice saying a year has been added to the contract, which initially went into operation in February 2012 and covered vehicle licensing and inspection services and a technology system for the Public Carriage Office.
In September 2021 it was announced that TfL had signed Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to provide a new tech system and customer portal, but the new notice says the deployment has been delayed.
“The new technology system is currently in its implementation phase but is unexpectedly not available for operation due to several factors, including but not limited to delays in final user acceptance testing,” it says.
“TfL is continuing to work with the new provider to ensure the technology system is delivered in accordance with TfL’s requirements as soon as possible.”
Time and cost factors
It adds that NSL has been retained for a year as there is not enough time for a reprocurement and this would prove too costly; and that the intention is to move to the new system as soon as possible.
A bespoke system is necessary for the purpose as it has to handle specific features for managing taxis and hire vehicles in London – notably the Knowledge test for taxi drivers, the ultra low emission zone and the congestion charge – and has to interface with services from several third parties including the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, the Public Register and the Post Office.
The extension has increased the value of the contract with NLS from £62.7 million to £79 million.
NSL is the parking enforcement division of Marston Holdings, which retains responsibility for the licensing, inspection and contact centre services under the new contract.
