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Bus Contract Management System (Bus CMS)

Transport for Wales

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Tender

23 Jul 2026 at 13:06

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

30 May 2025 at 16:48

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

30 May 2025 at 16:38

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Transport for Wales is procuring a bus Contract Management System to support the transition of Wales’s deregulated bus network to franchised services. The system will manage contractual records and compliance, contract changes, performance management including incentives and deductions, operator payments, and fleet and depot asset reporting. It must include a contract register, performance management module, payment performance calculator and operator access portal. The solution will support around 120 franchised bus contracts across four Welsh regional rollout phases and integrate with Transport for Wales systems, potentially through middleware. It will provide dashboards for punctuality, reliability, vehicle requirements and other contract-specific performance measures. Delivery and use will be across Wales, for Transport for Wales, its internal teams and bus operators.

The process has reached tender: suppliers were invited to submit offers through a three-stage competitive flexible procedure, with participation, tender, and demonstration or presentation stages. There is one lot, and the procurement uses a selective method. Questions were due by 7 August 2026 at 12:00, and expressions of interest by 17 August 2026 at 12:00. The award decision is due by 2 November 2026. The contract period is 23 November 2026 to 22 November 2031, with options for up to three further 12-month extensions, ending no later than 22 November 2034. The system must be operational by June 2027. The estimated value is £2,150,000 excluding VAT, or £2,580,000 including VAT. Evaluation is technical quality 60%, social value 10% and commercial price 30%.

This opportunity suits software suppliers with an established contract management product or the capability to develop one for a national transport network. Strong candidates will demonstrate experience delivering scalable systems for complex, changing contractual arrangements, including dynamic contract registers, configurable performance regimes and payment calculations. The solution must support role-based access for Transport for Wales staff and external operators, operator portals, dashboards, advanced search and filtering, data imports, reporting and integration with operational data sources. Suppliers should be able to deliver implementation, training for Transport for Wales teams and bus operators, ongoing support and maintenance, and evolving integrations as systems change. The requirement also favours providers able to assess and propose new technology and innovation regularly, maintain product roadmaps, and respond to changing KPIs, service levels and licensing needs.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Bus Contract Management System (Bus CMS)

Notice Description

Transport for Wales (TfW) is seeking a supplier to provide, implement and support a Contract Management System (CMS) to underpin the delivery of franchised bus services across Wales. The Welsh bus network currently comprises around 700 routes, tendered individually by local authorities within a deregulated market. On behalf of Welsh Ministers, TfW will transition this network to a franchised model by 2030, adopting a four-phase regional rollout (South West Wales, North Wales, South East Wales, Mid Wales). It is anticipated that approximately 120 total contracts will be let across those phases. Managing contracts of this number and complexity requires a single system that can scale with each phase, hold data and contractual obligations consistently across the whole network and support accurate performance and payment management. The central aim is to automate as much of the contract management process as possible, reducing manual intervention and minimising risk of error. The system is required to support five core contract management processes: Contract recording and general compliance Contract change Performance management (including an incentive and deduction regime) Operator payments Asset reporting/management for fleet and depots These processes will be supported by four key features: Contract register Performance management module (PMM) Payment performance calculator (PPC) Operator access portal The CMS must integrate with a range of TfW systems, in some cases through TfW middleware. A maximum of 7 integrations is anticipated for day one. A minimum of 150 licenses will be required once the network is fully franchised, comprising at least 30 internal TfW users and at least 120 external operator users, with tiered role-based-access controls. The supplier will also provide implementation, training for TfW teams and c.100 bus operators, and ongoing support and maintenance. The contract will be awarded under the Competitive Flexible Procedure of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23), for an initial term of five years with the option to extend by up to three further period of twelve months, giving a maximum term of eight years. The solution must be fully operational by June 2027.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Options: Known unknown risks have been included in the tender documentation. Additional features or data integrations may be required during the course of the contract. Additional licenses may be required during the term of the contract.

Renewal: Option to extend for up to three (3) periods of 12 months each.

Planning Information

Transport for Wales (TfW) are currently seeking to procure a comprehensive contract management system to support transport services in Wales. TfW wish to engage with suppliers who already have established or have the ability to develop a contract management system for a national transport network. The system should provide a quick and intuitive workflow through a user interface that provides a quality user experience. It must also offer advanced search and filtering capabilities to locate contracts and performance data based on specific fields. Separate levels of access are necessary for the TfW users (super users, contract managers) and transport operators, ensuring permissions are in place for viewing and managing key performance indicators relevant to the user. The system requires core Contract Management System Capabilities to enable efficient administration of contractual agreements. This includes functionalities for creating, modifying and tracking contracts throughout their lifecycle. Operators will need to be able to access the system to view performance measures via a portal. Being linked directly to their respective contracts, the system will need to categorise performance metrics into sections, such as punctuality, reliability, vehicle requirements plus any other performance measures specified within each contract, displaying these KPI’s within a dashboard is essential. The system will need to be able to support the integration of the contracts with operational data sources. It will need to support data imports and reporting to enhance operational insight and decision making, potentially using AI to expediate the process. An initial supplier briefing session will be held on 12th of June, after which specific supplier sessions will be held with interested parties to ascertain market capability and interest in the opportunity. The engagement will be held via Microsoft Teams. Please contact supplychain@tfw.wales if you wish to be invited to the market event quoting the UK2 reference and description. Please provide the email addresses of the proposed attendees in your request.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-052a18
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/069715-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Planning, Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

48 - Software package and information systems

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

CPV Codes

48000000 - Software package and information systems

72200000 - Software programming and consultancy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£2,150,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£2,150,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
23 Jul 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
7 Aug 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
15 Oct 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
23 Nov 2026 - 22 Nov 2031 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Transport for Wales
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
PONTYPRIDD
Postcode
CF37 4TH
Postcode Area
Cardiff
Country
Wales
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLL Wales
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLL5 South East Wales
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLL51 Central Valleys and Bridgend
Delivery Location
TLL Wales
Local Authority
Rhondda Cynon Taf
Electoral Ward
Pontypridd Town
Westminster Constituency
Pontypridd

Further Information

Notice Documents

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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