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Provision of Student Travel and Bus Pass Services for Glasgow Clyde College

Glasgow Clyde College

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

16 Sep 2026 at 16:09

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Glasgow Clyde College procured student travel and bus pass services, including the supply and administration of passes for eligible students. The requirement is for a comprehensive transport solution covering the College’s wide catchment area, with reliable journeys to and from Anniesland, Langside and Cardonald campuses. The service is based on an integrated public transport network, combining broad geographical coverage, connections to all campuses, sufficient service frequency, integrated ticketing and pass management, and capacity for the expected volume of student travel. This is a transport service procurement, classified as travel services and public-service buses. The buying organisation is Glasgow Clyde College, serving students across Glasgow and surrounding communities. The selected provider is First Bus Scotland.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded. Glasgow Clyde College used a limited procedure involving an award without prior publication of a competition notice, making a direct award because it considered competition absent for technical reasons and no reasonable alternative or substitute available. First Bus Scotland was selected as the supplier, with an award decision recorded on 16 September 2026 and the contract signed the same day. The contract is valued at £120,000 including the stated currency of GBP. Its duration is two years, with an option to extend for a further 12 months. The College concluded that appointing multiple operators would not provide an equivalent solution and would create significant operational and administrative complexity. The contract is active.

This award indicates a requirement suited to a large bus operator with an established network across Glasgow and surrounding communities, rather than a provider offering isolated routes or a narrow local service. A credible future competitor would need to demonstrate reliable links to all Glasgow Clyde College campuses, broad coverage across the student catchment area, adequate service frequency to support attendance, and sufficient operational capacity for substantial student travel volumes. It would also need integrated ticketing and pass-management systems capable of administering travel passes for eligible students. The buyer’s assessment places weight on delivering one joined-up transport solution: suppliers relying on several operators would need to address the resulting coordination and administrative complexity while maintaining accessible, dependable services across the whole network.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Student Travel and Bus Pass Services for Glasgow Clyde College

Notice Description

Glasgow Clyde College intends to award a contract directly to First Bus for the provision of student travel and bus pass services. The College requires a transport solution that provides comprehensive coverage across its catchment area, enabling students to travel to and from College campuses using a single, integrated public transport network.

Lot Information

Lot 1

The contract relates to the provision of student bus travel services, including the supply and administration of travel passes for eligible students attending Glasgow Clyde College. The College serves students from a wide geographical area throughout Glasgow and surrounding communities. It requires a transport provider capable of offering a comprehensive and integrated network that enables students to travel reliably to and from the College's campuses. The College has undertaken a review of available public transport operators and has concluded that First Bus is the only operator able to provide the necessary network coverage across the full catchment area whilst meeting operational, accessibility and service requirements. The contract duration is for two years with the option to extend for a further 12 months.

Procurement Information

The College considers that the conditions for a direct award are satisfied because competition is absent for technical reasons and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists. First Bus operates the only transport network capable of delivering the required combination of: Geographical coverage across the College's catchment area; Connectivity to all College campuses; Sufficient service frequency to support student attendance; Integrated ticketing and pass management arrangements; Operational capacity to support the volume of anticipated student travel. The College has determined that no other operator is capable of meeting the requirement in its entirety and that the appointment of multiple operators would not provide an equivalent solution and would create significant operational and administrative complexity.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0773ca
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/087924-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation

63 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services

CPV Codes

34121100 - Public-service buses

63515000 - Travel services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£120,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
16 Sep 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Glasgow Clyde College
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
GLASGOW
Postcode
G52 3AY
Postcode Area
Glasgow
Country
Scotland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM3 West Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM32 Glasgow City
Delivery Location
TLM82 Glasgow City
Local Authority
Glasgow City
Electoral Ward
Cardonald
Westminster Constituency
Glasgow South West

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

First Bus Scotland

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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