Transport for London (TfL) has extended its two road user charging contracts with Capita, worth an estimated total value of up to £912m.
The Extension of Road User Charging Business Operations Services (BOps) contract has been extended for an additional £510m, with the Extension of Road User Charging Enforcement Operations Services (EOps) contract gaining Capita an additional £402m.
Under these new contracts, Capita will continue to operate London's congestion charge, Low and Ultra Low Emission Zones (LEZ/ULEZ), tolls for the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels, HGV safety permits, and traffic fines.
Announced in two transparency notices earlier this month, TfL stated that the extensions would last for an initial term of five years with a ‘limited optional extension to a maximum of seven years'.
These extensions, according to the notices, allow for the minimum period needed to complete a compliant competitive procurement process, design and implement a replacement service model and technical architecture and undertake ‘safe, controlled and phased transition' to a new supplier.
TfL previously planned to publish a tender seeking to replace the current BOps and EOps contracts in March of this year, but a revision to the pipeline notice in February pushed the publication date back to April next year, with the contract start dates moving from September to October 2028.
Despite this, the award notices for the extensions state that TfL now expects the new BEOps Contract to be awarded ‘approximately mid 2029'.
The capital's transport authority also added that it has the right to end the extended contracts early, ‘enabling TfL to transition to a replacement supplier at the earliest point at which it is technically feasible and operationally safe to do so.'
