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Demand Responsive Bus Service

North East Lincolnshire Council

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

TenderCancellation

02 Sep 2026 at 09:36

UK12 - Procurement Termination Notice
Tender

02 Apr 2026 at 14:31

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

22 Oct 2025 at 11:30

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

North East Lincolnshire Borough Council sought a delivery partner for a demand-responsive bus service, known as Phone n Ride, across North East Lincolnshire, including Grimsby and Cleethorpes. The service is intended to improve access for residents whose journeys cannot be made conveniently by the conventional bus network because of location or travel time. The requirement covers the operation and delivery of the passenger transport service, together with its booking and scheduling provision. It includes public road transport, special-purpose passenger transport and passenger vehicles with drivers. The opportunity is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community or social enterprises. The buyer is a sub-central public authority based in Grimsby.

The procurement reached tender: the council invited offers through an open competitive flexible procedure with two stages, an invitation to tender followed by software demonstration. The tender deadline was 5 May 2026 at 13:00, enquiries closed on 29 April 2026 at 16:00, and the planned award date was 15 July 2026. The single lot was valued at £2.1m excluding VAT (£2.52m including VAT), for 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2029, with four possible 12-month extensions to 30 September 2033. Cost carried 60%; quality criteria covered accessibility, cloud principles, implementation, continuity, customer service, cover, software methodology, social value, carbon reduction and demonstration. The procurement was cancelled without award because organisational priorities changed. A new exercise was anticipated for mid to late October 2026.

This requirement suited operators able to deliver demand-responsive passenger transport and manage bookings, scheduling, vehicles, drivers and customer service as one service. Suppliers needed the capacity to adjust vehicle numbers, operating hours and the operating area in response to funding, demand and service changes. Technical capability included implementing and demonstrating a cloud-based software system, with robust business continuity and disaster recovery arrangements. Required information-security standards were ISO 27001:2022, ISO 27017:2015 and ISO 27018:2019, or approved equivalents. Operators needed PSV “O” licences for vehicles carrying up to eight service users and for vehicles with 9–16 seats, relevant motor insurance, £10m employers’ liability insurance and £5m public liability insurance. GDPR-compliant controls for personal and sensitive data were also required.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Demand Responsive Bus Service

Notice Description

North East Lincolnshire Council are seeking to appoint a new delivery partner for a transformational Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) service and the associated booking and scheduling provision. The DRT service is also known as Phone n Ride. The aim is to provide an effective DRT service across the North East Lincolnshire area. Whilst the conventional bus network provides extensive coverage throughout the main urban areas of Grimsby and Cleethorpes, there are some journeys which cannot be made, either due to the location of the origin/destination points or at the time at which the individual wishes to travel. The aim of the DRT service is primarily to support accessibility for local residents who for whatever reason do not have appropriate access to conventional bus services.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Options: Increase or reduce the number of vehicles / operating hours due variations in funding available to operate the DRT service, demand for service user trips or changes to the operating area. There is a possibility that due to local government reorganisation this contract will need to be novated to another public body carrying out the same functions as the Authority. Purchase of desirable requirements.

Renewal: 4 x 12 month extensions

Planning Information

The PME information can be found on the Council's e tendering portal YORtender. https://uk.eu-supply.com/login.asp?B=YORTENDER Under the reference 104536. Submissions and any clarifications are to be submitted via YORtender.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d168
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082911-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Planning, Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK12 - Procurement Termination Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
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

60130000 - Special-purpose road passenger-transport services

60170000 - Hire of passenger transport vehicles with driver

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£2,100,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£2,100,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
2 Sep 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
5 May 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
12 Jan 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Oct 2026 - 30 Sep 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
2029-03-01

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Cancelled
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
North East Lincolnshire Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
GRIMSBY
Postcode
DN31 1HU
Postcode Area
Doncaster
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLE Yorkshire and The Humber
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLE1 East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLE13 North and North East Lincolnshire
Delivery Location
TLE13 North and North East Lincolnshire
Local Authority
North East Lincolnshire
Electoral Ward
West Marsh
Westminster Constituency
Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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