Tender

Bus Franchising in the Liverpool City Region - Category 2 Passport System

LIVERPOOL CITY REGION COMBINED AUTHORITY

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Tender

10 Feb 2025 at 14:04

Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is initiating a tender for Category 2 Bus Franchising in the Liverpool City Region under the Transport Act. The procurement process is currently at the tender stage with the tender period ending on 28th February 2025. The relevant contract will commence on 8th August 2025 and conclude on 23rd February 2029. The tender includes the delivery of transport services, specifically bus services, within St Helens, Wirral, Sefton, and South Liverpool. The procurement is open to SMEs, focusing on bus services excluding waste transport and requiring the involved operators to deliver services from their own depots without assuming revenue risk. Operators must also handle repair and maintenance of buses and ensure the availability of trained staff.

This tender offers significant growth opportunities for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in the transport industry. Businesses specialising in local bus services, especially those with existing depots and capabilities in bus maintenance, are well-suited to compete. As the operator will not bear revenue risk, this reduces financial risk and provides a stable framework for growth. Companies with experience in managing school transport services or other local bus services can particularly benefit from the structured and long-term nature of the contract, allowing them to expand their service reach within the Liverpool City Region.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Bus Franchising in the Liverpool City Region - Category 2 Passport System

Notice Description

On 25 April 2023, LCRCA published an Assessment on Bus Franchising in the Liverpool City Region which sets out the proposed bus Franchising Scheme in accordance with the Transport Act. In October 2023, the Liverpool City Region Mayor made a Franchising Scheme covering the Liverpool City Region. Franchising is to be introduced over a number of tranches of procurement. Franchised contracts will be let in two categories: i. Category 1 franchises, which are those Franchise Agreements involving multiple services that will operate from a depot provided by LCRCA. LCRCA will provide the depot from which the services relating to the Category 1 franchise must be operated. LCRCA will predominately provide the fleet that must be used on the Category 1 franchise. ii. Category 2 franchises, which are those Franchise Agreements which either i) provide services to serve schools or ii) provide other local services. In both cases the franchises will be delivered from an operator's own depot. This notice relates to Category 2 franchises. The first tranche of Category 2 franchises are expected to relate to St Helens, Wirral and Sefton and South Liverpool. This notice relates to Category 2 franchises. Key elements of Category 2 franchises will include: Delivery of requirement: the operator of each franchise will be required to provide bus services in accordance with detailed individual franchise package specifications. Revenue risk: the operator will not be required to assume revenue risk. Revenue risk will be primarily taken by LCRCA. Depots: the operator of each franchise will be required to provide the depot(s) from which the Category 2 franchises will be operated. Buses: the operator of each franchise will primarily be responsible for providing the vehicles which will operate Category 2 franchises. Repair, maintenance and servicing of buses: the operator will be responsible for the repair, maintenance and servicing of vehicles whilst ensuring that there are in a roadworthy condition. Staff: the operator is responsible for ensuring that it has all necessary and suitably trained staff to deliver the requirement detailed in the individual franchise specifications.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-b5fd17-78390397-6590-4aed-8fcd-43019784abc2
Publication Source
Contracts Finder
Latest Notice
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/d67ca0c8-0801-4695-bb92-6ad9629c40d7
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Other -
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

CPV Codes

60000000 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
10 Feb 20251 years ago
Submission Deadline
28 Feb 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
7 Aug 2025 - 23 Feb 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Active
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
LIVERPOOL CITY REGION COMBINED AUTHORITY
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LIVERPOOL
Postcode
L3 1BP
Post Town
Liverpool
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLD7 Merseyside
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLD72 Liverpool
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
Liverpool
Electoral Ward
Waterfront South
Westminster Constituency
Liverpool Riverside

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts. 

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