Planning

West Yorkshire Bus Franchising

WEST YORKSHIRE COMBINED AUTHORITY

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

01 Apr 2025 at 12:57

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority is currently in the planning stage of the procurement process for the West Yorkshire Bus Franchising contract. This initiative aims to overhaul the region's transport network by bringing buses back under local control. The procurement falls under the services category, specifically public road transport services. A series of engagement events and one-on-one meetings with suppliers have been scheduled, with the current phase running until mid-to-late May 2025. The procurement process is expected to launch tender opportunities between August and October 2025. The procurement involves nine baskets of contracts based on geographic areas, rolled out in three rounds from Q4 2025 to Q8 2027. Interested suppliers are advised to stay informed by joining the mailing list and emailing for market engagement participation.

This tender offers substantial opportunities for businesses operating in the public transport sector. Companies specialising in fleet management, network planning, customer requirements, and data systems would be particularly well-suited to compete for these contracts. The contract's scope, covering multiple geographic areas and various aspects of public road transport services, promises substantial business growth prospects. Suppliers who can contribute to the business case, asset management, and overall contracting strategy stand to benefit significantly. Engaging early in the market engagement process can provide valuable insights and enhance readiness for when the tender is officially launched.

Find more tenders on our Open Data Platform.
How relevant is this notice?

D3 Tenders Premium

Win More Public Sector Contracts

AI-powered tender discovery, pipeline management, and market intelligence — everything you need to grow your public sector business.

Start Free Trial Book a Demo
All Features Pricing

Notice Information

Notice Title

West Yorkshire Bus Franchising

Notice Description

A decision was made on the 14th of March 2024 by Tracy Brabin, the Mayor of West Yorkshire, to bring buses back under local control in the biggest shake-up of the region's transport network in decades. Since then, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has engaged with bus operators, and will continue to do so until the tender opportunities are launches between August and October 2025. Current engagement is helping WYCA confirm its commercial positions. At the time of publication of this notice, WYCA envisages 9 baskets of contracts based on geographic areas (these baskets of varying numbers of contracts based on size and complexity), let in three procurement rounds from Q4 2025 to Q8 2027

Planning Information

An online briefing event was held on the 25th of November 2024. This was followed up by 1:1s held with suppliers looking through a list of questions about the outline commercial position that was the subject of the online brief. These 1:1s lasted until early January. Feedback enables the CA to further define its commercial position. Another online brief was held on the 24th of March 2025. Further 1:1s will be held from this date, until mid-to-late May. During this time, online briefs on smaller, specific may also be held to receive targeted feedback about certain any points. Broadly, topics over the next few months will be: * business case and lot strategy * assets and depots; * network planning and management; * fleet; * customer requirements; * contracting and commercial position, including timing and structure of the procurement process; * data, systems, processes. The timings of these topics is subject to change, and we will publish further details in due course. The best way to stay up to date is to join our mailing list (below). Suppliers wishing to join the maket engagement process should email: bus.reform@westyorks-ca.gov.uk.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-04fb55
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/012261-2025
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

CPV Codes

60112000 - Public road transport services

Notice Value(s)

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

Notice Dates

Publication Date
1 Apr 202510 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
1 Oct 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
28 Mar 2027 - 28 Mar 2034 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
WEST YORKSHIRE COMBINED AUTHORITY
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
commercialteam@westyorks-ca.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LEEDS
Postcode
LS1 2DE
Post Town
Leeds
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLE Yorkshire and The Humber
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLE4 West Yorkshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLE42 Leeds
Delivery Location
TLE4 West Yorkshire
Local Authority
Leeds
Electoral Ward
Little London & Woodhouse
Westminster Constituency
Leeds Central and Headingley

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

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. 

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-04fb55-2025-04-01T13:57:56+01:00",
    "date": "2025-04-01T13:57:56+01:00",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-04fb55",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "GB-PPON-PHYG-7328-ZLQJ",
            "name": "West Yorkshire Combined Authority",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                "id": "PHYG-7328-ZLQJ"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "Wellington House, 40 - 50 Wellingon Street",
                "locality": "Leeds",
                "postalCode": "LS1 2DE",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKE42"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "commercialteam@westyorks-ca.gov.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer"
            ],
            "details": {
                "url": "https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk",
                "classifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
                        "id": "publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment",
                        "description": "Public authority - sub-central government"
                    }
                ]
            }
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "id": "GB-PPON-PHYG-7328-ZLQJ",
        "name": "West Yorkshire Combined Authority"
    },
    "planning": {
        "milestones": [
            {
                "id": "engagement",
                "type": "engagement",
                "description": "An online briefing event was held on the 25th of November 2024. This was followed up by 1:1s held with suppliers looking through a list of questions about the outline commercial position that was the subject of the online brief. These 1:1s lasted until early January. Feedback enables the CA to further define its commercial position. Another online brief was held on the 24th of March 2025. Further 1:1s will be held from this date, until mid-to-late May. During this time, online briefs on smaller, specific may also be held to receive targeted feedback about certain any points. Broadly, topics over the next few months will be: * business case and lot strategy * assets and depots; * network planning and management; * fleet; * customer requirements; * contracting and commercial position, including timing and structure of the procurement process; * data, systems, processes. The timings of these topics is subject to change, and we will publish further details in due course. The best way to stay up to date is to join our mailing list (below). Suppliers wishing to join the maket engagement process should email: bus.reform@westyorks-ca.gov.uk.",
                "dueDate": "2025-06-15T23:59:59+01:00",
                "status": "scheduled"
            }
        ],
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "012261-2025",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/012261-2025",
                "datePublished": "2025-04-01T13:57:56+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            }
        ]
    },
    "tender": {
        "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-04fb55",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "2023/54",
            "scheme": "UKPGA",
            "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents"
        },
        "title": "West Yorkshire Bus Franchising",
        "description": "A decision was made on the 14th of March 2024 by Tracy Brabin, the Mayor of West Yorkshire, to bring buses back under local control in the biggest shake-up of the region's transport network in decades. Since then, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has engaged with bus operators, and will continue to do so until the tender opportunities are launches between August and October 2025. Current engagement is helping WYCA confirm its commercial positions. At the time of publication of this notice, WYCA envisages 9 baskets of contracts based on geographic areas (these baskets of varying numbers of contracts based on size and complexity), let in three procurement rounds from Q4 2025 to Q8 2027",
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "additionalClassifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "60112000",
                        "description": "Public road transport services"
                    }
                ],
                "deliveryAddresses": [
                    {
                        "region": "UKE4",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    }
                ],
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ],
        "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
        "aboveThreshold": true,
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "contractPeriod": {
                    "startDate": "2027-03-28T00:00:00Z",
                    "endDate": "2034-03-28T23:59:59+01:00"
                },
                "status": "planning"
            }
        ],
        "communication": {
            "futureNoticeDate": "2025-10-01T23:59:59+01:00"
        },
        "status": "planning"
    },
    "language": "en"
}