Call for tender for the Transmilenio buses: the trip would now be funded

In order to ensure the plurality of suppliers, Transmilenio had to suspend the Phases I and II fleet renewal process. However, the financial system's confidence in the city's transportation could be decisive for the success or failure of the bidding process.

At the present time, the 12 contracts (six for purchase and six for operation) should have been awarded to renew 1,383 buses of Transmilenio's oldest fleet ( TM). The process began in December of last year and, like other district tender offers, it was not saved from having a full path reverses. After several adjournments, the process was suspended again until August 30th. The determination of the TM was surprising, as the deadlines for making comments and including addenda to the specifications had already been exhausted. Even at the pre-planning stage, bidding odds have been modified in response to pressure from several sectors to include clean-tech buses and the budget for the technology. The purchase of electricity went from $ 1.6 trillion to $ 3.5 trillion. vehicles. (LEA: suspend for a month submission to renew the fleet of Transmilenio)

But this time has nothing to do with the environmental issue. Although according to TM the new suspension was made to guarantee the plurality of bidders in the resolution with which the bidding is suspended, there are two specific reasons: financial issues and a request from interested parties

It is no secret that Bogotá's integrated transportation system does not enjoy a good reputation in the financial sector these days and an example is the SITP, whose operators were suspended credit early this year. In the case of TM fleet renewal, it appears that those interested in participating in the Fleet Management Call for Tenders have advanced procedures to obtain the disbursement they require, but have not yet obtained approval. ]

According to the suspension resolution, "to date, the study and the guarantee of funding by some lenders and potential guarantors are not completed, so that they are not not able to commit to a financial close that could be verified by the manufacturers. " It is striking that these loans, requested at the beginning of the year, are still being studied by the banks knowing that the first closing of the tender was in mid-July.

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These setbacks, however, can only be evidence of more serious problems with this transport model. That's what Aurelio Suárez, an urban affairs badyst, says, considers that financial problems can be structural. " The call for tenders was split because those who operate the system currently have no way to buy buses, and unless they are on gas or electric. " Beyond the debate about bus technology, these systems are becoming more expensive, because each year the fuel and spare parts increase and their service life is shorter, so we have to ask ourselves if this problem is the timing of a bidding or is a structural problem, because there will come a time when banks will close credit to carriers. "

With these conditions, according to Edder Velandia, an expert in development and climate change at the University of La Salle, the result would have been a call for tenders with a very small quota of bidders. defended the arrival of clean buses in the system, ensures that the suspension was as timely as necessary, in order to guarantee financial support and that the process materializes. Coincides with Suárez that the bank does not have any money. has no confidence in the transport of Bogotá and that this would have been the main reason for taking the decision to suspend the process.

"There is a mixed offer of technologies": TM on bus tender [19659012] "The suspension is due to funding problems. TM realized that neither the manufacturers nor the operators had managed to obtain the necessary financing and that they would certainly present few bidders to the hiring process. There are a lot of banks that have taken the time to study the terms of the offer, since there has been a lot of controversy and that the SITP has generated some money. instability and mistrust, so banks have been cautious to fund these operators. Velandia

The prospects for this call for tenders are not very clear. Despite the importance of the TM bus renewal process, some of which have already reached 15 years of useful life, few companies have expressed an absolute willingness to participate in the call for tenders for operating and concession contracts. Even, major automakers such as Mercedes Benz, whose buses now ride on the backbone of the system, have excluded their participation in the process because the submission requirements left their models on the outside.

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By the end of this month, the call process of offers will be resumed. In the meantime, TM will continue to respond to the comments of oversight bodies, as well as academics, advisers, environmental activists and even members of Congress. However, and despite the District's refusal to include a percentage of electric or gas buses, this issue could be easier to solve than the actual context of transportation travel.