MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE REQUEST FOR INFORMATION TRANSPORT PERMIT SYSTEM RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Issue date: January 12, 2015 Closing Date/Time: Responses must be received before 2:00 PM Pacific Standard Time on: February 16, 2015 CONTACT INFORMATION: All enquiries related to this Request for Information (RFI) are to be directed, in writing, to the following email address. Responses will be provided if time permits. Information obtained from any other source is not official and should not be relied upon. Enquiries and any responses will be recorded and will be posted to BC Bid. Enquiries may be submitted in writing by email no later than 2:00 pm PST February 12, 2015. No enquiries will be responded to following this date. Information Management Branch Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Email: TRANIMBCONTRACTS@gov.bc.ca ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES One complete electronic Response in Microsoft Word or editable Adobe PDF format must be received before 2:00 PM Pacific Time on February 16, 2015 and must be submitted via email to: E-mail: TRANIMBCONTRACTS@gov.bc.ca Emails should identify in the Subject line the name of the company/individual submitting the Response, the RFI # and the Title. Responses received after the above noted date/time may not be considered by the Ministry.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Overview 3 Ministry Overview 4 Background 4 Objectives of the Program or Business Area 4 Key Features 5 British Columbia Characteristics 6 Overview of the Current Program and Business Environment 7 Current and Future Solution Abstract 7 Current and Future Business Process Architecture 9 Additional Background Information 11 Conceptual Data Model 11 Key Information Entities 12 Client/Customer 12 Permit Application 12 Permit 12 Permit Route 12 Loaded Vehicle Policy Rules 13 Vehicle Configuration 13 Fee 13 Road Segment 13 onroutebc Permit System and Routing 14 Routing Data Management (RDM) 15 Restrictions 15 Geographically-Based Policy Rules 16 Purpose of Request for Information 16 Terms and Conditions of Request for Information 18 RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 2
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION TRANSPORT PERMIT SYSTEM RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 OVERVIEW The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI, the Ministry) is requesting information from interested parties for the replacement of the current Transport Permit System (TPS). The primary focus of the TPS is to ensure the safe operation of commercial vehicles and loads from the perspective of weights (infrastructure protection), dimensions (road safety), and vehicle configurations. Vehicles beyond a certain weight and size are required by regulation to obtain a permit in order to operate on public roads in British Columbia. A replacement system will provide Ministry staff and carriers with an online, web-based system for issuing and receiving permits. It will support the collection of trip details for the proposed Routing Utility (RU) to establish a system approvable route or show the restrictions and obstructions that do not allow for an approved route. The system will need to reflect provincial permit policies that are specific to a British Columbia location or region which will impact routing. For example, heavier vehicles are allowed to travel on pre-approved corridors without special permit requirements. In cases where the system is able to generate an approved route for an oversized vehicle, the system will also auto approve and issue a permit without Ministry staff involvement. The system must display and log the spatial details for permit routes. The purpose of this RFI is to learn more about available solutions that may be suitable as a replacement for the Ministry s existing TPS that could assist the Ministry in the development of a future procurement process. In the event that sufficient information is received, the Ministry may, but is not obligated to, initiate a competitive bidding opportunity. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 3
MINISTRY OVERVIEW The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure plans transportation networks, provides transportation services and infrastructure, develops and implements transportation policies, and administers many related acts and regulations. The Ministry also administers federal-provincial funding programs, including the Building Canada Fund. The Ministry opens up B.C. through innovative, forward-thinking transportation strategies that move people and goods safely, and fuel our provincial economy. Improvement of vital infrastructure is a key goal, along with enhancing the competitiveness of B.C. s transportation industries, and reducing transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions and providing B.C. with a safe and reliable highway system. BACKGROUND There are two main areas in the Ministry that are part of the permitting process; the Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE) Branch and the Provincial Permit Centre (PPC). The CVSE is responsible for road infrastructure protection and commercial vehicle safety enforcement throughout the province. The PPC is the central permitting agency that issues permits using the TPS implemented in April 2008. For vehicles beyond a certain weight and size, there are very clear legislative requirements for vehicles to obtain a permit in order to travel. Any truck wanting to carry a load greater than the legal weight or size requires a permit that details the vehicle and its dimensions, weight and commodity, as well as the route to be taken. The Ministry currently uses a manual process to analyze, approve and issue permits for overweight or oversized trucks. The TPS does not have routing or spatial capabilities. The TPS is limited in its self-permitting capabilities in that all single trip permits require manual review. Only 7% of permits are currently being issued on-line. TPS has no business intelligence capabilities for spatial analysis (trip route details) of permits granted or requested. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM OR BUSINESS AREA Specific objectives of the TPS replacement project (the new name will be onroutebc ) are to: a) Improve the overall customer experience through: Increased self-permitting capabilities and auto-routing for single trip permits Reduced call center wait times and permit issuance times for permit requests made through the PPC b) Limit manual processing by PPC staff by reducing the need for staff involvement in routine permits that could be auto-approved based on defined criteria. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 4
c) Continuously improve the safety of the public travelling on the provincial road network through consolidation and improved quality of the road network restriction data. d) Improve business intelligence to support infrastructure planning and policy development. To meet these objectives onroutebc will enable the automatic generation of appropriate routes based on known route restrictions and the vehicle configurations entered by clients. KEY FEATURES The new system must support the high-level key features listed below with the ability to: a) Enable PPC staff to create and issue a permit for client requests made through the PPC call center. b) Provide online self-permit capabilities and manage the process for when a permit application requires manual intervention and/or review. c) Provide the capability for clients to pay for permits on-line (either on account or with credit card/debit through the provincial standard merchant provider). d) Evaluate vehicle configuration and load against provincial policy and regulations. e) Manage restrictions, policy rules and vehicle configuration data and for the solution to generate routes automatically. f) Allow clients to manage their fleet inventory and recall previous permit details for re-use. g) Provide operational reporting regarding permit issuance (including spatial route analysis), staff workload statistics and financial reconciliation. h) Support analytic reporting relating to infrastructure planning and other strategic initiatives. i) Provide workflow management for permit process and approvals. j) Empower clients to model hypothetical permits to assist in planning the movement of goods and equipment on the provincial network. k) For additional information regarding high level business requirements, please refer to Appendix C. The Ministry requires the new system to be operational with at least the core functionality of the above-noted key features no later than December 1, 2015. Further functionality may be developed/implemented in successive phases following this date. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 5
BRITISH COLUMBIA CHARACTERISTICS There are a number of factors specific to BC that make permitting in BC challenging: a) Mountainous terrain and numerous waterways create non-redundant routing conditions with only one route possible including having to route down to the level of detailing in what lane the vehicle must be travelling. b) Routing based on seasonal load restrictions. Seasonal load restrictions are specific to individual roads (or portions of roads), and specify for each road the amount of legal axle loading that is permitted. With the freeze and thaw cycles (or in some cases heavy rains), these restrictions can be constantly changing for a given road. c) The province is broken into regions which have different policy rules so routing by policy is common. In particular, the Peace Region (Region A) allows larger loads to be pre-approved than in other provincial regions. d) Loaded vehicle policy rules are used to determine a route by defining the size and weight limits for vehicle configurations, commodities and specific locations. e) Routing also needs to consider and use established corridors to route which may supersede existing policy for a specific region. For example, as a matter of policy, no vehicles are pre-approved for travel above 4.3 m Overall Height (OAH) anywhere in the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) except on the overheight corridors. Therefore, a 4.4 m OAH vehicle travelling west on Highway 1, wanting to travel to downtown Langley, must turn off the highway at Abbotsford, and follow the approved corridor. f) The province only issues permits for Ministry-owned/maintained roads and only has restriction data for these and not for city or secondary roads. The routing engine must recognize that these additional roads are included in the road network but are not routable. g) Permit fees are calculated based on distance; the system must use the total permit distance to calculate the permit fees. The total permit distance only includes distance travelled on the Ministry-owned/maintained roads - no distance travelled on the remainder of the provinicial road network is considered. h) The authoritative road network dataset for the province, the GeoBC Atlas Integrated Transportation Network (GBA-ITN), will be used for routing. The GBA- ITN layer consists of a fully topologically structured link-and-node network representing the roads network. It is an integrated feature-based data layer but may not characterize onroutebc specific attribution and network requirements. This information will be managed by onroutebc and associated externally with the GBA-ITN data. Respondents to this RFI are encouraged to review the pertinent legislation and policy documents that govern the permitting of commercial vehicles in the province of BC. The CVSE web site includes links to all pertinent information, including the Commercial Transport Act, the Commercial Transport Regulations, and the CVSE Commercial Transport Manual. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 6
OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT PROGRAM AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT TPS is comprised of two separate systems, TPS Office and TPS Online (Web), using different interfaces with one common database. The system ensures the compliant operation of commercial vehicles and loads from the perspective of weights (infrastructure protection), dimensions (road safety), and vehicle configurations. The permit process ensures that oversize and overweight vehicles are routed along roads where they are safe to travel, and the permit fees help offset the wear and tear that these vehicles have on provincial roads. Permit entry, approval, payment and distribution are currently supported by TPS. The following sections outline the existing solution abstract as well as the current solution architecture and business processes. Current and Future Solution Abstract The onroutebc solution abstract diagram illustrates the permit system s role in the provincial economy by providing commercial transportation companies as well as industry the ability to obtain a permit where the vehicle exceeds legal limits, thus better supporting them in the shipping of goods. TPS uses information from external agencies like the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) to ensure that oversize and overweight vehicles are routed along roads where they are safe to travel, and the permit fees help offset the wear and tear that these vehicle have on provincial roads. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 7
Industry Ports Manufacturing Oil & Gas Mining Agriculture Prince Rupert Metro Vancouver Commercial Transportation Companies Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure CVSE PPC Receive/Create Permit Application Vehicle and Load Details - Vehicle Configuration - Commodity Route Planning - Restrictions - Policy & Legislation - Engineering - Pricing - Conditions Issue Permit - Permit - Driving Instructions - Conditions Corporate Finance Planning Infrastructure and Maintenance External Agencies Ministry of Finance - Government Agents Revenue Management System (GARMS) - Beanstream Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC) - ICBC Client System Geo BC - BC Geocoder - Integrated Transportation Network (ITN) The dependency on trucking to move goods is based on limits to the loads that trucks are able to carry. Consequently, there is a focus on increasing the sizes and weights of loads that can be transported on roads, therefore permit data will serve as an important source of information for infrastructure planning. This business intelligence will enable Ministry planning, infrastructure and maintenance to better understand where possible infrastructure improvements could be made to support the increase in commercial traffic including auto-approval volumes. As well, it will support Corporate Finance in maintaining financial security of the system and provide revenue reports for permits, refunds and reconciliations. For additional information regarding current and future state solution architecture, please refer to Appendix A. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 8
Current and Future Business Process Architecture The following diagram illustrates the high-level business process architecture for onroutebc. Business processes are grouped together logically and the arrows indicate the dependencies and interactions of the processes. These processes provide the basis of business operations and are the key processes that need to be implemented within a new solution, however, there may be additional business processes that are outside of the scope of this solution that are not illustrated here. The business processes identified are described briefly below, but for more details please refer to Appendix B Current and Future State Business Processes. TPS-001 Obtain Client #: The TPS Obtain Client # business process flow outlines the steps taken by the client and Ministry staff for the client to obtain an ICBC Client number which is required to purchase a permit in BC. TPS-002 Registration for Online Access: Currently, both an ICBC Client # and a BCeID (further information on BCeID can be found at www.bceid.ca) are required in order for the client to register to use the online permit system. The TPS Registration for Online Access business process flow outlines the steps required to register and for staff to process and approve access to the system. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 9
TPS-003 Create a Credit Account: Depending on the carrier and the number of permits being requested on a regular basis, a company will be required to set up a credit account with the Ministry in order to speed up and ease the payment process. This process shows the steps required to setup and associate the account in the system. TPS-004 Apply for a Permit: This business process flow outlines the steps taken by the client and Ministry staff to obtain or issue a permit including capturing all details of the application (i.e., requestor information, vehicle configuration and route (trip) details). TPS-005 Modify a Permit: The TPS Modify a Permit business process flow outlines the steps taken by the client and Ministry staff to modify a previously approved permit. The client works with PPC staff to make the necessary changes and any additional payment or refund is processed. TPS-006 Cancel/Refund a Permit: If a previously approved permit was not used or there was an error made when producing the permit it may need to be cancelled and refunded. RU-001 Generate Route: The Routing Utility (RU) Generate Route business process flow outlines the steps taken by the RU to create a route; from gathering the input parameters from the calling application, to calculating the route itself, to returning the route details required by the calling application. RDM-001 Maintain Road Collection: The Routing Data Management (RDM) Maintain Road Collection business process flow outlines the steps reviewing and approving changes to RDM data entities. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 10
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION Conceptual Data Model The following conceptual data model presents an outline of the information requirements of the business for onroutebc by showing the key information entities and their relationships. The key entities have been described but for more detailed information on all the entities and information relationships please refer to Appendix D Conceptual Data Model. Legend Information Entity Applies for Client Receives Information Relationship Permit Application Becomes Permit Has Levied for Charge Levies Permit Route Has Vehicle Configuration Associated Loaded Vehicle Policy Rules Associated Includes Road Segment RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 11
Key Information Entities Client/Customer A client or customer is defined as a user who has registered access to the TPS either by phone or online for the purposes of obtaining a commercial vehicle permit. A valid Client Number, with associated client information, is required in TPS in order to create and issue a permit to a client. The Client Number is the primary identifier for all client information in TPS. A client can be an individual or an organization, who may have a fleet of vehicles they operate. A client applies for and pays for permit applications, and can request changes to the permit or that a permit by voided. Permit documents are delivered to clients. Permit Application For vehicles beyond a certain weight and size, there are very clear legislative requirements for vehicles to obtain a permit in order to travel. A permit application is completed and submitted in order to confirm that the request meets legislative requirements and once approved it becomes the valid permit. Permit A valid permit contains the following information: Requestor details Permit details Vehicle details Vehicle configuration details Route (trip) details Conditions Permit Route A Permit Route is a contiguous collection of road segments that will allow a permitted vehicle to travel from the trip s origin to the destination. The route can include non- Ministry road segments but they must be approved by the jurisdiction or organization that controls them. The Ministry will not guarantee that restrictions have been accurately reported for non-ministry roads. The route can also include ferry trips on the BC Ferry System. Loaded Vehicle Policy Rules Loaded Vehicle Policy Rules define size and weight limits for vehicle configurations, commodities and specific locations. Policy rules can trigger one or more types of actions; the addition of conditions, alerts and approvals to be automatically added to the permit application. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 12
A Condition is a predefined piece of text that will be presented on the Permit Document. An Alert is a predefined piece of text that is presented to the user as a warning message, and does not affect the completion of the permit application. An Approval is a user position that is added to the list of approvers for the permit application. Policy rules can have one or more of the following criteria: Priority, Configuration, Vehicle Type, Trailer Type, Commodity Class, Permit Type, Width (Minimum, Maximum), Height (Low, High), Length (Low, High), GVW (Low, High), Overhang Rear (Low, High) and Front Overhang (Low, High). Vehicle Configuration The vehicle configuration is the description of the vehicle being used on the permit including tire sizes, axle spreads, inter-axle spacings and axle weight information. This information is used to determine the trip route, fees and conditions or policies that will apply to the permit. Fee When a permit application is created, charges are created and based on the permit type and fee modifier(s). The fee modifiers are applied or prorated on distance/volume. If a permit is modified, and the value of the permit increases, there will be another payment made for the additional value of the permit. Corresponding charges are negated and new charges are created. If a permit is modified, and the total amount to be paid is negative, then a refund is paid. Road Segment A road segment is a spatial line segment representing a section of the road network. In the GBA-ITN, a road segment (aka transport line ) can represent a section of road, resource road, trail, or ferry route. It does not include rail or light rail features. Road segments include attributes describing the road, including: Names and highway numbers Road type Road custodian Number of lanes House numbers Turn restriction codes RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 13
onroutebc Permit System and Routing In the current state, the TPS does not include spatial capability to assist clients in describing or planning routes. Textual descriptions of routes are entered manually, generally as a list of highways where the permit is valid. Route details are not stored in structured ways that would make it useful for any sort of reporting (much less spatial analysis). Because of this lack of spatial awareness in the system: No single-trip application can be issued automatically online. Carriers must call the PPC to have permits reviewed and issued, resulting in significant call volumes for the PPC (and wait times for clients). From a reporting perspective, no useable information about permit routes is saved to the system. Although TPS can answer questions about the number and types of permits issued, it can provide virtually no details about where the vehicles involved travelled. This lack of reporting detail is a serious impediment for Ministry staff involved in infrastructure planning and maintenance. For these reasons, developing the capability to automatically route vehicles and to store information about those routes for reporting are key objectives for onroutebc. Automated routing will enable carriers to plan routes, and receive permits online, without the need for intervention of PPC staff. To accomplish this, the RU will need to be able to create a route for commercial vehicle single trip permits which considers: The configuration, size, and weight of the vehicle; Road network characteristics including size and weight restrictions (including seasonal load restrictions); Commercial vehicle policy directives, such as approved heavy haul and oversize corridors; Events along the road network that may impede commercial travel; Integrating way points desired by the client. The RU will be able to calculate safe routes for commercial oversize and overweight vehicles that can be auto-approved by the system without need for the permit to be reviewed by Ministry staff. In cases where the RU cannot find a safe route, the system will be able to record the client s requested route so that it can be reviewed (and potentially adjusted) by Ministry staff. A new system will support operational and strategic reporting by recording details of routes associated with applications and permits. Ideally, other applications will also be able to take advantage of the routing service to calculate generic routes, which are not based on specific vehicle configurations, and which do not consider restrictions. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 14
Routing Data Management (RDM) As previously noted, the onroutebc road network is based on GBA-ITN. To support the RU, the RDM sub-system will maintain the authoritative onroutebc Road Network (ORN), which supplements the GBA-ITN-based road network with additional information that is required to support routing. RDM will regularly receive GBA-ITN updates and load them into the ORN; the expected update frequency is monthly or as necessary for updates and new roads. GBA-ITN describes the spatial characteristics of roadways, including where they are located, the direction of travel, the number of lanes, road names and addresses, and so on. The GBA-ITN road network consists of multiple road segments (known as transport lines ), each of which describe a discrete section of road and its connection to other road segments. Restrictions A key function of RDM will be to supplement the GBA-ITN with restriction data, which are aspects of the road network that restrict oversize and overweight commercial vehicles from travelling on a road. This information is essential in enabling onroutebc to automatically generate routes for these vehicles. These restrictions include, but are not limited to: Clearances: Road and structure clearance data (height, width, and length), including the ability to record separate clearance information by direction and lane. Load limits: Weight allowances for roads and structures, expressed either as gross combined vehicle weight (GCVW) and/or axle and axle group. Events: Restrictions such as construction and other planned closures, natural events that can effect traffic such as flooding or fires, and seasonal load restrictions that are put in place for specific seasonal conditions. The system will be accessing events through an external dataset. Road Section Preference: Ability to indicate preference of road sections of the network over others by applying a variable value. This variable is referred to as a road friction factor; road friction factors serve to weight roads according to their suitability for commercial vehicle traffic. These are necessary so that the routing utility does not always select routes based on shortest distance (for example, selecting a route through a city rather than the highway bypass). Turn restrictions: Restrictions that are implicit in the road network, such as sharp turns and roundabouts that cannot be navigated by oversize vehicles. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 15
Geographically-Based Policy Rules In addition to restriction information, RDM is also responsible for spatially locating areas of the province where specific policy rules apply. This includes, but is not limited to: Increased height allowances in the Peace Region Decreased height allowances in the GVRD area Corridors where vehicles may be auto-approved for weights or dimensions that are greater than those otherwise defined in policy Locations requiring traffic control for specific vehicle configurations PURPOSE OF REQUEST FOR INFORMATION The purpose of issuing this RFI is to: a) determine the level of market interest/capability to provide a viable solution that addresses all or some of the Ministry s business needs; b) obtain information on potential new technologies or approaches; c) identify interested parties with previous experience in developing and supporting comparable systems; d) gather information that would advise any future procurement opportunity the Ministry may develop; e) obtain high-level cost and time estimates for budget and planning purposes; f) obtain typical infrastructure and software deployment time estimates; g) alert industry of a potential future procurement opportunity. Interested parties are invited to respond to this RFI by submitting a response to MoTI. Responses should include ideas, information and recommendations that could result in a clarification of the requirements, cost-saving opportunities, and the identification of potential problem areas with this initiative. Respondents are requested to provide a concise and focused response to this RFI. Responses are requested in the following format: a) brief company profile; b) name of a key contact person, including telephone number, fax number and email address; c) information, advice and recommendations organized as requested in this RFI; d) identification and discussion of key factors that the respondent recommends the Ministry consider when establishing its future business requirements; e) other required information specific to the nature of this RFI and deemed important by the respondent. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 16
Responses should include: a) High level cost and time estimates for budget and planning purposes; b) Example(s) of comparable installations/applications implemented within the last three years; c) Example(s) of working solution that demonstrates experience with integrating: i. routing ii. fleet management iii. restrictions iv. restriction and policy management Responses should also be able to address the following market assessment questions: Maintenance and Support 1. Describe your processes and services for maintenance and support of the application solutions. 2. Can your solutions support a customer who has a 24x7x365 business operation, and if so, please describe how this is achieved. 3. Describe how your application solutions support a high availability environment where downtime is avoided or very strictly minimized. Enhancement and Expansion 1. How has your company enabled truck permitting solutions for other agencies? 2. Describe truck permitting solutions and/or products that you have available or in development that may be of interest to MoTI in the future. 3. Provide examples from your experience with clients to demonstrate your capacity, capabilities and competency in this area, including any services that are available to support enhancement and expansion. 4. How does your company approach pricing of enhancements or expansion to truck permitting solutions? RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 17
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION Interested parties should be aware that participation in this Request for Information is not a prerequisite to participate in any subsequent competitive process for this initiative. MoTI does, however, encourage your involvement in this process. General Please note that this Request for Information is not an offer, a request for proposal or a tender call of any type. Receipt of responses in relation to this Request for Information will not create a bid contract or a contract to purchase goods or services. You will not acquire any legal rights or privileges in relation to this initiative, or portion thereof, as a result of this Request for Information. In the event that sufficient information is received, MoTI may, but is not obligated to, initiate a competitive bidding opportunity. The MoTI reserves the right to modify the terms of this Request for Information at any time at its sole discretion. This includes the right to cancel this Request for Information at any time. Use of Response Information The MoTI is very interested in your solution(s), knowledge, expertise, and comments related to this initiative, however, do not respond with proprietary or confidential information as the MoTI intends on using responses or portions thereof, in subsequent procurement or other public documents. Upon receipt and review of responses, the MoTI reserves the right to incorporate portions from any response in any subsequent procurement processes. However, the MoTI is not obligated to use any information submitted in subsequent processes. Responses to this Request for Information will not be evaluated, ranked, nor will vendors be selected as a result of this Request for Information. This Request for Information will not be used to pre qualify or screen vendors for any subsequent solicitations. Expenses Please note that you are solely responsible for your own expenses in preparing a response to this Request for Information and for subsequent discussions or meetings, if any, with the MoTI. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 18
Responses This Request for Information will be open for response until February 16, 2015 before 2:00 pm Pacific Standard Time. Please be sure to return your response as provided on the cover page of this Request for Information. The MoTI will review all responses received by the closing date but will not review responses received after this date. Please note that you are not required to follow any specific format when responding to this Request for Information. However, in order to facilitate the Ministry s review, please respond providing information as indicated under Purpose for Request for Information. Responses should be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided on the cover page of this RFI by the established deadline. Please be sure to clearly indicate in your response the RFI number and its title. No Price Proposals Please note that the MoTI is not asking for proposals and as such is not seeking definitive pricing information at this time. However, in order to assess possible financial models for a project of this magnitude, the MoTI is interested in general comments on the pricing and budget approaches. Post Request for Information Meetings The MoTI, at its sole option, may opt to meet with selected parties who respond to this Request for Information to ask for further information related to this Request for Information, if necessary. Inquiries Please direct all inquiries related to this Request for Information to the contact identified on the cover page. Please do not contact the Ministry or individual staff regarding this RFI. Questions/inquiries will be accepted only until February 12, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. PST. Responses to questions/inquiries and any RFI updates will be posted to BC Bid. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 19
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Please note that all responses to this Request for Information become the property of the Province and will be held in confidence, subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Notification of Subsequent Procurements If subsequent competitive bidding opportunities are issued, the MoTI is under no obligation to advise any person or organizations responding to this Request for Information. Vendors are advised to monitor the BC Bid website (www.bcbid.ca) for any such opportunities, which will be open to all vendors regardless of whether or not a response to this Request for Information has been submitted. RFI#MoTI-TPS-20150112 Page 20