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Provision of bus service - Route 281/N281/681

LONDON BUS SERVICES LIMITED

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

17 Sep 2026 at 12:36

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

London Bus Services Limited, part of Transport for London’s bus network, procured the operation of bus routes 281, N281 and 681. The requirement is a public road passenger transport service, covering the planned provision of the routes rather than the purchase of vehicles or equipment. The service is associated with London, where the buyer and selected supplier are based. The requirement was arranged as a single service package for the routes and was intended to support regular public bus operations. The relevant category is public road transport services (CPV 60112000). London United is identified as the supplier selected for the requirement, indicating that the service is delivered by an established commercial bus operator rather than a goods or construction contractor.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded through a selective negotiated procedure with a prior call for competition, using price as the stated award criterion. London United was selected for the route package after one bid was recorded. The award is active and the contract was signed on 13 August 2026. Its value is £11,781,816. The original requirement described a seven-year bus service agreement and included an option for the contracting entity to extend the term at its discretion. The tender record marks the lot as cancelled, while the published award and contract are active; this should be checked against the contractual position. The process was covered by the Government Procurement Agreement.

This procurement demonstrates demand from London Bus Services Limited for an operator capable of running multiple established public bus routes as one service package. A credible future competitor would need operational capacity across routes 281, N281 and 681, with the systems, vehicles, drivers, scheduling and control arrangements needed to deliver reliable scheduled passenger services. The selected supplier was identified as a large organisation, and the recorded competition attracted one bid, suggesting that scale and the ability to assume responsibility for the whole route package were commercially significant. Suppliers with proven urban bus operations, robust mobilisation and service-management capability would be better placed than firms offering transport support without direct route-operating capacity.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of bus service - Route 281/N281/681

Notice Description

QC100104

Lot Information

Lot 1

Provision of bus service route 281/N281/681 for 7 years. Please note, costs posted on Find a Tender Service sometimes differ from those on the internet, this is due to post award negotiation.

Options: Term of the agreement can be extended at the discretion of the contracting entity.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-07744d
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088169-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Negotiated procedure with prior call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

CPV Codes

60112000 - Public road transport services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£11,781,816 £10M-£100M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
17 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
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
LONDON BUS SERVICES LIMITED
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
E20 1JN
Postcode Area
East London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI41 Hackney and Newham
Delivery Location
TLI London
Local Authority
Newham
Electoral Ward
Stratford Olympic Park
Westminster Constituency
Stratford and Bow

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

London United

Further Information

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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