News
16/04/2018

Contribute to the FABULOS project's Open Market Consultation - DEADLINE APRIL 27!

The FABULOS project focuses on how cities can use self-driving minibuses in a systematic way. Six partnering cities are collectively procuring the operations of an automated bus line. Companies can receive up to 5.5 million euros to support their R&D work in developing systems capable of operating fleets of automated minibuses.

The aim of the Open Market Consultation is to gain market insight on state of the art and future developments in the field of automated mini-buses. In order to achieve this, the tender specifications need to be refined and repositioned in cooperation with the procurers, potential suppliers, bus manufacturers and other specialists in the fields of automated vehicles and urban public transport.

During the Open Market Consultation events, the FABULOS challenge, vision and scope will be presented alongside the pre-commercial procurement process. There will also be many opportunities for lively discussions between procurers and potential suppliers.

It should be noted, that all communication and questions concerning Open Market Consultation, should be addressed to Forum Virium Helsinki, Lead Contracting Authority by e-mail to ask@fabulos.eu.

Open Market Consultation Events

Surveys for procurers and suppliers open 3–27 April

Two Open Market Consultation related surveys have been launched on 3 April 2018. One is targeted for the potential suppliers and another for the potential procurers. The input of suppliers as well as procurers is crucial to the FABULOS Consortium since it enables to shape the request for tender. Surveys also contribute to defining the evaluation criteria of the pre-commercial procurement process.

Please submit your contribution before 27 April 2018 via the following link. The results of the surveys will be published in the Open Market Consultation Summary Report available on the FABULOS website by end of June 2018.

FABULOS Call for tenders to be launched in September 2018

On 1 September 2018, an international request for tender will be launched to acquire systems capable of operating fleets of automated minibuses within urban areas. All companies or consortia can apply, with the provision that at least 50 per cent of the R&D needs to take place in the EU or Associated Countries.

When the request for tender is closed, the Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) process will be executed in three phases, ending in September 2020. The first phase is a feasibility study of the selected technologies and proposals. Then, the most promising concepts will be developed into well-defined prototypes and lab-tested in phase two. The third phase aims to verify and compare the first end products in real-life situations. An objective of the FABULOS project is to have the final selected prototypes tested as small fleets of automated buses in Estonia, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal.

>>> More information on pre-commercial procurement