RPA Smartcard moves to a new stage?

Victor

http://www.rpa.ie/its/about_us/progress

In July 2008 RPA appointed an organisation to supply and build the central systems required for the Integrated Ticketing Scheme.

http://www.rpa.ie/its/about_us/about_its

Project Strategy
Early in the project, the team developed a detailed project plan that was presented to the Department of Transport in December 2002. The plan envisaged a four-phase project namely:

Establishment - Complete
Design and specification - Complete
Procurement - Complete
Implementation - Phased implementation to commence following completion of the build of the back office systems. ITS smart cards shall be introduced on one operator’s service before being rolled out across all operators once the extensive testing phase has been completed.

John R

a detailed project plan that was presented to the Department of Transport in December 2002

In July 2008 RPA appointed an organisation

SIX YEARS before a finger has been raised on any actual implementation.

Anyone want to take a guess on hom much money has been thrown down the toilet of consultancy in that time?

Fratton Fred

can someone remind me, why won't a system the same as london's Oyster card work in dublin?

Mayshine

I have heard from a good source that the back office processing system is a contract worth approx 10-12 mill.

I also have heard that the RPA has spent in exess of this figure (possibly 150-200% more) on consultants fees prior to this tender!

icdg

Fratton Fred wrote: »

can someone remind me, why won't a system the same as london's Oyster card work in dublin?

It should in theory. The thing was that integrated ticketing between British Rail and London Regional Transport (the Travelcard scheme) was agreed in the 1980s as a bilateral and their successor organisations (National Rail and Transport for London) were required to inherit the scheme. Oyster is slightly different in that while TfL uses it across the board (well it owns London Underground, DLR, and London Buses so it can require them to use it, London Buses can then require its contractors to use it), not being part of the earlier BR agreement means TfL can only force one train company to use it (London Overground, which it owns) and is negotiating on a company by company basis with other operators to have introduced on the National Rail network in London.

What's delaying a simpler scheme in Dublin is:

* Lack of an overall controlling body for transport in Dublin. The DTA Act has been passed, but a commencement date hasn't been set and even when the DTA is established, it will have nothing like the measure of control over CIE and RPA that TfL has over its subsidaries.

* The fact that none of the various operators can agree on revenue sharing, or even the system to be used. Even within CIE, Irish Rail and Dublin Bus have disagreements.

Karen_*

John R wrote: »

SIX YEARS before a finger has been raised on any actual implementation.

Anyone want to take a guess on hom much money has been thrown down the toilet of consultancy in that time?

A sickening amount beleive me. I used to "work" on the ITS team.

Red Alert

Surely the minister (as their boss) can not allow DB, IE and the RPA to have disagreements. And to be honest, from the behaviour of circle line and others, i'd prefer if we pressed ahead with integrated ticketing without them.

sdanseo

Another example of this country's inert failure to get things done.

This should have been here ten years ago.

Sponge Bob

Red Alert wrote: »

Surely the minister (as their boss) can not allow DB, IE and the RPA to have disagreements.

The Battle of Broadstone was probably the final straw ( unresolved ) . It put the fear of God into the Department of Finance let me tell you .

The RPA is under ferocious pressure to show it can deliver something more than 2 or 3 Luas extensions which is all it has done to date ( 6 years ) . Otherwise its a dead quango walking.

icdg

It was a dead quango walking. The decision had been taken and effectively announced when the shadow DTA chairman (Tom Mulcahy) was appointed chairman of the RPA.

Between that decision and the publishing of the DTA Bill, something happened that made the Department of Transport reconsider that decision and when the Bill was published it was announced the RPA was remaining intact. From the minister's comments at second reading in the Seanad ( http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=SEN20080423.xml&Page=1&Ex=353#N353 ) it appears they were afraid abolishing the RPA would interrupt the tender process for Metro North. That shouldn't have been the case if the plan was originally to rename the RPA as the DTA. Now the government will have to fund the saleries of two chairmen, two chief executives, two boards, two senior management teams, etc where it wouldn't have had to do so if they hadn't decided to retain the RPA as a seperate body.

There is simply no reason for the RPA to exist in light of the setting up of the DTA IMHO. It becomes simply a middleman between Veolia Transport and the DTA.

Anyways there's not really much that can be done now, the DTA Act was signed into law on 16th July and is awaiting the commencement order, which will probably only be signed when the organisation is ready to assume its powers.

Victor

Hissy fit: http://www.rpa.ie/cms/download.asp?id=134

Sponge Bob

icdg wrote: »

Now the government will have to fund the saleries of two chairmen, two chief executives, two boards, two senior management teams, etc where it wouldn't have had to do so if they hadn't decided to retain the RPA as a seperate body.

LOL , so Dempsey is abolishing the CTR instead, this is what he said in the Seanad.

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=SEN20080423.xml&Page=1&Ex=H6#H6

I became concerned that absorption of the RPA by the authority could jeopardise the ongoing PPP procurement process in respect of Metro North, which is at a critical and sensitive juncture. I have decided to leave the RPA outside the authority. The authority will have precisely the same relationship with the RPA as it will have with Irish Rail, the other rail procurement body in the GDA. I am also satisfied that the benefit of providing organisational continuity in respect of the Metro North procurement process far outweigh any other benefits that could have accrued from pursuing other options regarding the relationship between the RPA and the authority. I was also concerned we would have a service-provider that would be part of a regulatory body and I do not believe that is a good thing.


The Bill before the House is incomplete in one respect. The original proposals for the Dublin Transport Authority did not impact significantly on the issue of taxi and hackney services. Accordingly, the Bill simply provides for the DTA and the Commission for Taxi Regulation to have regard to each other’s policies and plans and to engage jointly where actions by one body are likely to impact on the responsibilities of the other. However, taxi and hackney services in the greater Dublin area clearly comprise a significant element of public transport in the area as well as making up a substantial part of the national taxi and hackney fleet. Accordingly, the Government came to the view that, in light of the significant commonality of purpose and interest between the DTA and the Commission for Taxi Regulation, the Commission should be absorbed into the DTA. The new arrangement will have the added advantage of achieving administrative efficiencies.

And so thats one less quango but the DTA will run the Taxis in Galway and Cork , like :eek: WTF :eek:

No wonder the Department of Finance is totally freaked out. The Dept of Transport is dysfunctional as well as being run by a clown.

icdg

That never made it into the Act, either. According to Dempsey when the Bill was sent back to the Seanad (to accept the Dáil amendments), "it became apparent that it would be too complicated to integrate the commission into the DTA at this time. We were not able to do it in the timeframe for consideration of the Bill."

Its probably just as well. Having to run the taxi service for the entire country would be a massive strategical distraction from the Authority's role to set transport policy for Dublin. No doubt the membership of the Authority (and the Advisory Council which is meant to supervise the authority) will be heavily Dublin-based and it would unreasonable to have such an authority supervise the taxi service nationwide.

Sponge Bob

icdg wrote: »

That never made it into the Act, either. According to Dempsey when the Bill was sent back to the Seanad (to accept the Dáil amendments), "it became apparent that it would be too complicated to integrate the commission into the DTA at this time. We were not able to do it in the timeframe for consideration of the Bill."

Phew . The fact that it even crossed Dempsey emm , "mind" , or that of his senior civil servants is sadly indicative of the strategic poo heap in which we now find ourselves.

D'Peoples Voice

Victor wrote: »

http://www.rpa.ie/its/about_us/progress

http://www.rpa.ie/its/about_us/about_its

you forgot to add in their progress on the Senior Smartpass