Transportation - Metro

Quadrant's fare deal

National CCTV & Access Control company, Quadrant Video Systems Plc, won the UK’s biggest multi-site CCTV transportation contract seen in recent times.

Attracting fierce competition both from UK and European Community installation companies, Quadrant’s tender bid encountered Metro’s stringent procurement procedures to win through on grounds of ‘best value’ response, encompassing company track record (Metro visited other similar installations), financial standing, performance parameters and post-installation maintenance practice.

Awarded by the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE), the £1.5 million pound contract acknowledged Quadrant’s engineering expertise and reputation for providing cost-effective, large-scale, CCTV security surveillance solutions. The massive ‘start-up’ scheme provided Metro (the brand name used to promote WYPTE services), with a 118 colour camera system, installed across 17 bus stations within the Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees council districts.

Devised from the outset to accommodate an additional 100 % system expansion capability, the scheme involved large scale civil works to connect the CCTV camera fibre-optic network to an all new surveillance monitoring station. Situated in WYPTE’s Leeds Head Office, the ergonomically designed monitoring facility includes system hardware, electric’s, furniture, lighting, air conditioning and carpets, all designed and installed by Quadrant.

Conceived by WYPTE to help encourage more passengers to use local public transport, Alan Featherstone Metro’s Projects Officer stated, “ From the outset, we wanted a high-performance system that would enable us to enhance the safety and comfort of our passengers, Quadrant’s response to tender left us in no doubt that we could achieve that goal. ”

Completed in March 2000, at each bus station, the scheme accommodates two-way audio intercom ‘help points’, linked to ‘call’ activated ‘pre-set’ cameras. Along with bus station improvements to lighting, the massive scheme represents a major commitment by WYPTE to improve the comfort and security of the passenger ‘waiting’ environment, in a move to encourage greater bus use.