E Wrote:
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> Don't discount the requirements of competitive
> bidding for any government contract.

Don't discount, also, local and national politics. Specs can be arranged so the most logical vendor isn't competetive. Also, when you come back 10+ years after the first purchase the original vendor may not be offering the same product any more, or it might now be a special order that costs more and therefore isn't competitive.

The bidding process may seem illogical but it's the standard way of trying to minimize the cost to the taxpayer for a given purchase. It's better than a deal made behind closed doors on orders from the Office of Graft & Corruption.

Because different systems have different needs (it's true! and it's not a conspiracy to waste money...), and because you don't just buy LRVs & streetcars off the lot like cars (not enough volume to maintain an inventory - just in time construction), there is a certain amount of custom work needed. Analogy: does the dealer give you a break if you custom-order your car with certain options, rather than buy one off the lot? Probably not. You pay full price, but you get what you need.

While PCCs looked pretty similar, each system that used them did have its tweaks. They were NOT identical!

The last time somebody tried to design a "standard" light rail vehicle, it resulted in a botch that SF and Boston only recently managed to recover from. Granted, that may have had as much to do with the use of a near-death helicopter maker for the vendor as with the specs themselves.