PRESS RELEASE : Statement on bus shelters contract with Valo Smart City [August 2024]
The press release issued by Croydon Council on 12 October 2023.
Croydon Council is taking steps to terminate its contract with Valo Smart City to deliver bus shelters in the borough.
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon said: “This is an incredibly frustrating and unacceptable situation which has arisen through the procurement of the contract for the supply of new bus shelters with digital advertising screens in 2020.
“The council awarded this contract in 2021, to Valo Smart City which had no track record of delivering a contract like this in the UK and has failed to deliver a single bus shelter in our borough.
“The worst of it is that all the existing bus shelters were removed leaving residents without shelter and facing a third winter out in the cold.
“Since I was elected in May 2022, many attempts have been made to arrange a working plan that would deliver the shelters; timelines have been shifted, negotiations have taken place, and none of this has resulted in a satisfactory outcome. Our residents have waited long enough.
“Bus shelters and street furniture are an important part of the transport network and street scene, and I am determined that we must restore them for the benefit of commuters, residents, and businesses. The council is taking immediate steps to terminate the contract with Valo Smart City and we have informed them of our intent to pursue damages. Meanwhile council officers are reviewing our options to get bus shelters back on our streets as soon as possible.”
