Provision of a Fully-funded Community Car Club

Wrexham County Borough Council (WCBC, ‘the Council’) is conducting market engagement for a competent organisation to operate and maintain a potential Wrexham City Borough-wide Community Car Club Offer, with Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles being the preferred choice. However, consideration will be given to alternative fuels in the shorter term as a means to replace vehicle ownership and reduce grey fleet mileage for the authority, ideally through establishment of a fully funded concession model, under The Concession Contracts Regulations 2016. Background Welsh Government declared a Climate Emergency in Wales, setting ambitious plans for the public sector to be carbon neutral by 2030. WCBC declared a Climate and Ecological Emergency in September 2019, committing to make WCBC a net zero council by 2030. In line with this declaration, the Council has developed and is delivering a plan, which will target the decarbonisation of Council operations and to meet the requirements of the Council’s Decarbonisation Plan / Low Carbon Transport Strategy (draft) we must increase the provision of carbon neutral transport options in Wrexham. To meet the priorities of Llwybr Newydd: the Wales transport strategy 2021 | GOV.WALES, we need to move away from individual vehicle ownership to shared solutions, including car-sharing, car clubs, bike sharing and mobility as a service. Requirements WCBC is interested in hearing from organisations that would be willing to provide a fully funded, concession operating model where the supplier generates income revenue from the operation of the scheme. The operator would be responsible for bearing all operating costs, provision of the vehicles and other assets, provision of the operating systems and the management and maintenance of the scheme. Wrexham Council would work with and support the operation in the following ways: - Through use of the car club to provide staff pool vehicles for services in the city centre - To identify and support funding opportunities/applications - To identify and facilitate high profile and visible locations - including mobility hubs - Support with launch and ongoing promotion and signposting to the service including support with press coverage, events and activities that will raise awareness and increase participation. - Undertaking other actions that would help to ensure the success of the scheme and encourage use of the vehicles to support the viability of the offer Locations WCBC requires organisations to consider and include the following points in their responses:- • Public locations - installation in locations that are accessible to the public either on-street or in car parks/other sites • WCBC city centre locations – to meet the needs of our staff and communities • Mobility hubs – development of mobility hubs within WCBC’s existing car parks • Areas with low levels of car ownership – installation of solutions which meet the needs of areas where residents have low levels of vehicle ownership • Less populated areas – installation in more rural and semi-rural locations as community backed and supported solutions • Level of WCBC influence on locations – requirement to work in conjunction with WCBC, to decide on suitable city centre locations and to ensure equality of access Installation Please provide details of the following and other aspects that may pertain to the installation of such an operation: • how the organisation will ensure access for disabled users • requirements to enable installation of the scheme • Any requirements for vehicle charging and parking including reserved spaces • the make/model of vehicles proposed to be made available • any other on street alterations required Operation • Back Office Support – provide details of organisation’s current system • Booking process – please outline the system and process for booking the vehicles highlighting ease of booking and flexibility for last minute bookings • Details of proposals for ensuring high levels of uptake, increasing usage and securing sustainability of the service over the duration of the contract. Consultation – willingness and ability of organisations to commit to undertaking all aspects of full consultation with relevant stakeholders. • Bi-lingual operation systems (Welsh and English) Costs • Fully Funded Model – WCBC’s preferred solution is a fully-funded model. Outline terms of such an agreement, including any profit share arrangements. • Installation - Fully project-manage the entire process for installation. • Maintenance included – outline the cover to be provided such as servicing, insurance, repair and maintenance • Apply for funding - prepared to apply for government funding initiatives to offset and contribute to the costs of installation and work with WCBC to identify suitable locations. • Willingness and ability to work with partners and local businesses to increase provision and seek additional funding for increased capacity Users • Operating/booking system must be bilingual – Welsh and English • Users should be able to make contactless payments • A free customer support function should be available in the languages of Welsh and English. Contract Duration • Contract Duration – organisations to calculate relevant period and provide an appropriate contract term and provisions An outline business plan is required, indicating how you would meet the proposals as stated above. Business advice and planning can be obtained free of charge from Business Wales on Tel: 03000 6 03000. Organisations are welcome to use any other business advice service that they choose. Should you wish to submit a response to this Prior Information Notice, then please ensure that your response is no greater than 10 sides of A4. The closing date for submission of the outline business plan is 12:00 noon on Friday 21 July 2023. Any queries regarding this should be sent to Decarbonisation@wrexham.gov.uk . This PIN is not a call for competition and, as such, any interested party will need to express interest in any future tender (if issued) once the appropriate contact notice/s are published on Sell2Wales. NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at www.sell2wales.gov.wales