DALLAS, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Implicit PurchasePooling Solutions, LP announced that it has been selected by the FTA to recruit public transit agencies to participate in a cooperative pilot program to jointly procure either buses or light rail cars. All participating agencies will be eligible for 90% federal funding as compared to 80% federal funding under the current transit capital investment program. Implicit PurchasePooling Solutions offers an Internet-based approach to capital procurement that enables each agency to keep their individual specs, terms and conditions intact, while taking advantage of the larger volume discounts.

The pilot project is part of the FTA's Cooperative Procurement Pilot Program (CPPP). The CPPP is intended to develop joint procurement practices for transit buses and other major capital equipment. Saving costs and increasing efficiencies for individual transit agencies and their specification writers, manufacturers and suppliers is the overall objective for the CPPP.

"This is a great opportunity for agencies to increase funding for capital transit equipment or save money for their constituents," noted Jack Leary, President, JKL Solutions, Inc. and former transit general manager. "Consider that the average vehicle can cost from $300,000 to $1.2 million. With the extra 10% federal funding provided by this pilot program, participating agencies are eligible for an additional $30,000 to $120,000 per bus. The FTA's grant will fund eligible expenses in addition to the direct cost of the equipment. Eligible expenses include developing cooperative specifications, issuing the RFPs, evaluating best and final offers and Internet-based software like PurchasePooling that streamlines the joint procurement process."

Government entities use PurchasePooling Solutions' patented Internet-based approach to manage and streamline the entire procurement process. Three southwest transit agencies have already launched a regional pilot program to jointly purchase buses using Implicit PurchasePooling Solutions Internet-based software: The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and the City of Phoenix Public Transit Department.

Implicit PurchasePooling patented software facilitates collaboration between agencies and enables them to publish an RFP package for procuring buses based on APTA's Standard Bus Procurement Guidelines and best practices within the public transit industry. Each agency partner's specific terms and conditions can be incorporated into the RFP. Agencies can also create one base vehicle specification adding biddable options to address individual agency requirements. This feature enables agencies to cost compare each option and determine whether or not it is worth the extra expense.

PurchasePooling's software tools let agencies effectively work together to reduce the time and expense for developing capital equipment specifications while preserving each agency's ability to customize the equipment for their needs. Since 1999, over $15 million has been invested in the development of PurchasePooling Solutions Software. It was launched in collaboration with Deloitte Touche Consulting, i2 Software, Booz Allen, and various public sector procurement consultants.

For more information about this national Cooperative Procurement Pilot Program for transit buses or light rail cars, contact Steven Day 214.891.7068 or visit http://www.transitpool.com/ .

Implicit PurchasePooling Solutions is one of four distinct business groups within Implicit Solutions, GP LLC, professional services organization that helps companies implement their e-business strategies with solutions for e- commerce, knowledge management and back office functionality. Established in 1999, the Company's core skills are in database administration, systems integration and application design. In addition to PurchasePooling Solutions, Implicit's business groups include Professional Services, Remote Management Solutions and Application Services.

CONTACT: Steven Day of Implicit PurchasePooling Solutions, LP,
+1-214-891-7068, or Steven.Day@implicits.com

Web site: http://www.transitpool.com/