Page 93 - Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities - A U4SSC deliverable

The results

As well as the incumbent supplier, the city received responses from eight companies: six from
Mexico, one from Brazil and one from Spain. Three of the Mexican companies formed a consortium,
allowing them to compete with multinationals operating similar schemes in Paris, Barcelona and
São Paulo. Included among the responses were a range of suggestions to help improve the service.

These included:

• 25 new bicycle designs, including hybrid and electric bikes;
• new mobile app features including health data and bike mapping; and

• a revised finance model combining sponsorship and government subsidies.

One thing all suppliers agreed on was the need for a multiyear contract, a reflection of the investment
and time needed to implement a scheme of this scale.

Next steps

At the time of writing, the city authorities were receiving answers to a second questionnaire
posted in June 2020. This time, more detailed questions were asked; for example, how long would
suppliers need to prepare a full technical proposal and build prototypes? Again, the principles
of collaboration and early engagement were being used to set realistic deadlines and avoid any
potential bumps in the road for EcoBici mark II.

For the latest on the project, please visit the city's EcoBici site. For more on the Lift initiative visit
the OCP blog.

Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities | May 2023 79