Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (septa) Septa #Item RFI Request for Information for B-IV Announcement and Passenger Information System

SEPTA B-IV Subway Communications and Passenger-Information System Upgrades

SEPTA is gathering vendor information for communications and passenger-information upgrades across its 124-car B-IV Broad Street Line subway fleet. - Government buyer: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Procurement, Supply Chain Management Department; Contract Administration. - Opportunity status: This is an information-gathering RFI/Expression of Interest to help SEPTA shape a future competitive solicitation. It is not a vendor selection or contract award. - Fleet scope: Upgrades are intended for the 124-car B-IV fleet. Item-level quantities and part numbers are not provided. - Systems and equipment requested: - Interior digital passenger-information displays and CPUs for remote wireless updates. - Exterior full-color LED dot-matrix signs and protective enclosures. - Interior and exterior public-address speakers and audio equipment, including announcement and chime functions. - Passenger emergency intercom equipment with an ADA-compliant activation interface. - Operator controllers for route selection, announcements, PA and intercom functions. - Real-time location-tracking equipment using wheel-tick/dead-reckoning and/or GPS. - A content-management system and platform for schedules, passenger information, alerts, and wireless updates. - Door-close warning strobes adjacent to doorways. - Services of interest: System design, manufacture, integration, testing, installation, and professional services, potentially delivered by a vendor or a SEPTA-approved installation provider. - Notable technical requirements: Support for GTFS, GTFS-realtime, TSDE, and TODS data; secure APIs and open-data interoperability; real-time and schedule- or headway-based operation; text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and translation; and configurable display content. The system should support wireless and remote updates, manual and automatic announcements, route and destination information, and real-time location synchronization across controllers, signs, and speakers. - Accessibility and resilience: SEPTA is interested in ADA-compliant intercom activation and audio-assistive options such as Auracast Bluetooth or a hearing loop. Solutions should address cybersecurity, validation, error handling, redundancy, and disaster recovery, and remain compatible with legacy cars during phased fleet installation. Agency-related data is to remain SEPTA-owned. - Vendors and OEMs: No vendor or equipment manufacturer is identified in the provided materials. Auracast Bluetooth and hearing loop are referenced as assistive technologies, not as named suppliers. - Commercial context: SEPTA anticipates a future multi-year contract after market research and a competitive solicitation. Performance dates, contract duration, and subscription terms are not specified; the opportunity does not provide a contract value.

Description

SEPTA is seeking information from qualified vendors on communications system upgrades for its B-IV subway cars on the Broad Street Line. The systems of interest include digital displays, LED signs, public address systems, passenger emergency intercoms, operator controllers, real-time location tracking, and content management capabilities. SEPTA is gathering market information to inform a future competitive solicitation and possible multi-year contract for upgrades across the 124-car fleet; this notice is not a vendor selection process or commitment to award. Responses are due November 30, 2026, by 11:00 a.m. ET.

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