Planning

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

Bus Franchising - Dynamic Market for the South West

Transport for Wales

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

15 Sep 2026 at 09:46

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

10 Sep 2026 at 17:15

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

20 Oct 2025 at 09:53

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Transport for Wales, acting with the Welsh Ministers, is planning a dynamic market for franchised public bus services in South West Wales. The procurement covers public road transport services, with contracts awarded by the Welsh Ministers and procurement and contract administration managed by Transport for Wales. Delivery is across South West Wales. The arrangement is intended to support the Welsh bus franchising programme and will use a Qualifying Utilities Dynamic Market. Revised franchise packages and proposed changes to the dynamic market structure are being shared with operators as part of the current engagement activity. The work is categorised as services and is subject to the utilities regime. Small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community or social enterprises are identified as suitable participants.

This procurement is at the planning stage and is not an invitation to tender. The planned approach is a dynamic purchasing system for one South West Wales lot. The expected contract period is 1 February 2027 to 31 January 2038, with an estimated value of £400,000,000 including tax, in GBP. Transport for Wales expects a further notice on 19 October 2026. Two virtual market engagement sessions are planned for 24 September 2026, from 13:00 to 14:00, and 30 September 2026, from 10:30 to 11:30. The second session replaces the previously planned 22 September session. The sessions will share revised packages and proposed structural changes, rather than open a new engagement stage or seek further feedback on package design.

The procurement is likely to suit organisations that operate public bus or other public road transport services and can prepare for long-term franchised service delivery in South West Wales. It is particularly relevant to small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community or social enterprises, which the buyer has identified as suitable participants. Operators that have engaged with the bus franchising programme may already understand the emerging franchise packages and the proposed dynamic market structure. Prospective suppliers should follow the development of the Qualifying Utilities Dynamic Market and prepare to join it before responding to individual procurements. The buyer has also indicated that future supplier support will help market members understand and respond to later tenders.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Bus Franchising - Dynamic Market for the South West

Notice Description

The purpose of this UK2 notice is to provide an update in relation to a previously published notice on the 20th October 2025. Original UK2 OCID Reference: ocds-h6vhtk-05cf71 1. Contracting parties The Welsh Ministers are the Franchising Authority for franchised bus services in Wales and contracts awarded under the QUDM will be entered into by the Welsh Ministers in this capacity. Transport for Wales will be responsible for administering and operating the QUDM and will manage procurement procedures and contract administration on behalf of both parties. 2. Progress on the Engagement Process Due to unforeseen delays with the delivery of the Bus Franchising programme, the market engagement activity described in this original notice has taken longer than envisaged. The authority will be providing feedback to operators who have already responded to the initial notice in order to conclude this stage of the engagement process. TfW would like to thank all operators who attended the Bus Franchising market engagement sessions held throughout 2025 and 2026, including operator 121 sessions, and for the feedback provided. TfW will be holding two virtual South West Wales market engagement sessions, taking place on: Thursday 24th September 2026 at 13:00-14:00 Wednesday 30th September 2026 at 10:30-11:30 (replacing the original date of Tuesday 22nd September 2026) to share the revised franchise packages and provide an update on proposed changes to the Dynamic Market structure. The session will follow a "You Said, We Did" approach, showcasing the revised packages following consideration of feedback received through the previous engagement activity. This session is not a new stage of market engagement and is not intended to seek further feedback on the revised package design. It is an opportunity for TfW to share the revised packages with operators following the feedback received. This notice should not be construed as an invitation for new operators to engage as further notices will be published, enabling these opportunities. 3. Future Notices The contracting authorities will be placing future notices in relation to the further market engagement opportunities. It is recommended that operators continue to monitor the Sell2Wales website for future publications. Including potential additional UK2 notices to engage the market for a wider scope of input from operators, e.g; input into the draft terms and conditions, specification and service model. Further notices may also be placed to engage the market for the North Wales, South East Wales, and Mid Wales regions, for the purposes of onboarding onto the Qualifying Utilities Dynamic Market. Further instruction and operator engagement and support to onboard onto the QUDM will be included in the UK13 Dynamic Market Intention Notice, which we anticipate will be published shortly. TfW also intends to provide further engagement and supplier support during the subsequent tendering process to assist QUDM Members in understanding and responding to individual procurements.

Planning Information

As per the original notice placed, and as described in the procurement description section of this notice.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05cf71
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/087129-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Dynamic
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
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
£400,000,000 £100M-£1B
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
15 Sep 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
19 Oct 20264 weeks to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Feb 2027 - 31 Jan 2038 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
Transport for Wales
Additional Buyers

Llywodraeth Cymru / Welsh Government

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
TLL1 West Wales and The Valleys
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

JSON Markdown

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.

Loading OCDS record...