Item - 2026.GG30.12

The General Government Committee recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the General Manager of Solid Waste Management Services to negotiate and execute a non-competitive agreement with RouteSmart Technologies Inc., for the use of the RouteSmart Online cloud-based platform, which is used to plan and manage collection routes and operations, for a total contract value not to exceed $850,000 net of all taxes and applicable charges ($864,960 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries) for a period of five (5) years, with options to opt-out of the contract at the end of year one (1), or year two (2), or year three (3), or year four (4) at the sole request of the City, on terms and conditions satisfactory to the General Manager of Solid Waste Management Services and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

The purpose of this report is to seek City Council approval to transition from the currently authorized on‑premises RouteSmart for ArcGIS software, which is approved until 2030 but had its technical support and maintenance ended by RouteSmart in March 2026, to the cloud-based RouteSmart Online solution for the same time period.

To accomplish this staff are seeking authority to enter into a non-competitive agreement with RouteSmart Technologies Inc. (RouteSmart) for a subscription to the cloud-based version of RouteSmart Online, for a period up to five (5) years, with options to opt-out at the sole request of the City, for a total contract value not to exceed $850,000 net of all applicable taxes and charges ($864,960 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries).

In 2010, Solid Waste Management Services purchased licences for RouteSmart for ArcGIS, a critical operational software that is used to design, optimize, and manage collections routes, day-to-day operations, and service planning. After purchasing the licenses, Solid Waste Management Services paid for annual support and maintenance for the software from RouteSmart. Solid Waste Management Services was subsequently authorized by Council to continue purchasing annual maintenance and support from RouteSmart for consecutive five (5) year periods in 2015, 2020, and 2025, the most recent of which was intended to cover the period of 2026 to 2030.

RouteSmart has since terminated support and maintenance for RouteSmart for ArcGIS as of March 1, 2026, and migrated all of its services to a new, cloud-based platform called RouteSmart Online. While Solid Waste Management Services can continue to use RouteSmart for ArcGIS, the absence of ongoing maintenance and support from RouteSmart introduces a significant risk that the software could, at any point, stop functioning due to incompatibility with the City’s software environment. As a result, transitioning to RouteSmart Online imminently is necessary to ensure continued access to RouteSmart’s operationally critical functionality.

Since early 2025 Solid Waste Management Services, in collaboration with Technology Services Division, has been developing the business case and specifications to competitively procure a new, long-term technology solution, with the aim of bringing the procurement to market in the fourth quarter of 2026. A non-competitive agreement with RouteSmart for use of the cloud-based RouteSmart Online platform, for the same five (5) year period Council previously authorized Solid Waste Management Services to purchase annual maintenance and support for RouteSmart for ArcGIS, will mitigate operational risk and ensure the City has continued access to the operationally critical functionality of the software until such time as the new long-term solution can be competitively procured and implemented.