Notice Information
Notice Title
Coventry Electric Bus City - Bus Routes
Notice Description
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) supports the provision of an extensive passenger transport network across the West Midlands, both in fulfilment of statutory duties and to enable access to facilities and services. The WMCA supports the provision of local bus services, by financially subsidising routes that are not provided on a commercial basis by private operators. Current Subsidised Bus Contracts expiring on 18th July 2026 need to be re-procured in order to ensure the routes contained within each contract remain operational. There are two (2) Lots of contracts, with an aggregated estimated total spend value (including extensions) of circa PS21,650,000. The aim of this procurement exercise is to renew existing tendered bus services within the Coventry/Solihull region, whilst aligning with the Coventry Electric Bus City scheme which requires a fully electric fleet (in this case within 12 months of the contract start date.) This contract will overlap with Tranche 1 of franchised bus services operational in Coventry. The contract includes a change control mechanism to allow for changes to the services to align with the service model which will be delivered under franchising (yet to be determined). This could include vehicle livery, data provision, fares and ticketing initiatives etc. The end date of the contract, with the extensions, will enable the service to be included in the franchised network at the first renewal point of the Coventry lots. A shorter contract would not be commercially viable for the operator therefore a 5-year initial term, and up to a 5-year extension, has been agreed upon to offer best value for money and to ensure operators get return from the significant required investment in electric vehicles. WMCA intends to carry out a subsequent procurement of similar goods, services or works in reliance on the direct award justification in paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to the PA 2023, which is expected to be needed after the expiry of the contract. The X30 service is expected to be a potential subsequent procurement and will be undertaken once funding arrangements have been agreed. The X30 (Coventry Railway Station to Ansty Park) falls within the scope of Lot 1, therefore award of the X30 contract will only be permissible to the winning bidder of Lot 1 and will be awarded via a Direct Award process if undertaken. The Procurement Act 2023 stipulates that this is compliant under the following clause: "The public contract concerns the supply of goods, services or works by the existing supplier that are similar to existing goods, services or works where- (a)the existing goods, services or works were supplied under a public contract that was awarded in accordance with a competitive tendering procedure within the period of five years ending with the day on which the transparency notice is published, and (b)the tender notice or any tender document in respect of that earlier contract set out- (i)the contracting authority's intention to carry out a subsequent procurement of similar goods, services or works in reliance on this direct award justification, and (ii)any other information specified in regulations under section 95."
Lot Information
T0945
Service 51 (Coventry Pool Meadow to University Hospital) Service 60, 703 (Arena Park to University of Warwick) (Option) Service X30 (Coventry Railway Station to Ansty Park) (will be subject to a subsequent procurement of similar goods, services or works in reliance on the direct award justification in paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to the PA 2023)
Renewal: Optional extensions for up to 5 years, in any increment, to a final possible expiry date of 18th July 2036, at the sole discretion of the Authority.
T0946Service 82 (Coventry to Solihull, via Meriden) Service 87, 188 (Coventry to Solihull, via Balsall Common)
Renewal: Optional extensions for up to 5 years, in any increment, to a final possible expiry date of 18th July 2036, at the sole discretion of the Authority.
Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-059e54
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009870-2026
- Current Stage
- Award
- All Stages
- Tender, Award
Procurement Classification
- Notice Type
- UK6 - Contract Award Notice
- Procurement Type
- Standard
- Procurement Category
- Services
- Procurement Method
- Open
- Procurement Method Details
- Open procedure
- Tender Suitability
- SME, VCSE
- Awardee Scale
- Large
Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
- CPV Divisions
34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation
60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
-
- CPV Codes
34121100 - Public-service buses
60000000 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- £25,980,000 £10M-£100M
- Lots Value
- £25,980,000 £10M-£100M
- Awards Value
- £35,688,615 £10M-£100M
- Contracts Value
- Not specified
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 4 Feb 20262 weeks ago
- Submission Deadline
- 17 Oct 2025Expired
- Future Notice Date
- Not specified
- Award Date
- 4 Feb 20262 weeks ago
- Contract Period
- 18 Jul 2026 - 18 Jul 2031 Over 5 years
- Recurrence
- Not specified
Notice Status
- Tender Status
- Complete
- Lots Status
- Complete
- Awards Status
- Pending
- Contracts Status
- Not Specified
Buyer & Supplier
Contracting Authority (Buyer)
- Main Buyer
- WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY
- Contact Name
- Not specified
- Contact Email
- procurement.team@wmca.org.uk
- Contact Phone
- Not specified
Buyer Location
- Locality
- BIRMINGHAM
- Postcode
- B19 3SD
- Post Town
- Birmingham
- Country
- England
-
- Major Region (ITL 1)
- TLG West Midlands (England)
- Basic Region (ITL 2)
- TLG3 West Midlands
- Small Region (ITL 3)
- TLG31 Birmingham
- Delivery Location
- TLG West Midlands (England)
-
- Local Authority
- Birmingham
- Electoral Ward
- Newtown
- Westminster Constituency
- Birmingham Ladywood
Further Information
Notice Documents
-
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009870-2026
4th February 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/058208-2025
19th September 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
View full OCDS Record for this contracting process
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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