Award

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

Taxi and Private Hire Testing Service

Trafford Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

30 Sep 2026 at 15:57

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Trafford Council commissioned vehicle inspection and technical testing services for existing and proposed hackney carriage and private hire vehicles. The purpose is to check that vehicles meet the fitness standards in the council’s Manual of Inspections and the Vehicle Inspectorate MoT Inspection Manual. The work is for the council’s taxi and private hire licensing requirements and is delivered in the United Kingdom; no more specific delivery place is identified.

The procurement reached award by direct award after the competitive tender was unsuccessful: both bids received were non-compliant, so no supplier was selected through that competition. KAR Automotive Services Ltd was selected for the single lot. The award value is £800,000. The award was published on 30 September 2026. The contract period runs from 1 October 2026 to 21 June 2027, with an option to extend for up to three further years in 12-month increments, potentially to 21 June 2030. The stated reason for the direct award was the unsuccessful competition. The council’s rationale says the award creates no income or expenditure for it.

This award demonstrates demand from Trafford Council for inspections of hackney carriage and private hire vehicles, including vehicles proposed for use as well as those already operating. A credible competitor for a future requirement would need to provide vehicle inspection and technical testing against both the council’s own inspection manual and the Vehicle Inspectorate’s MoT Inspection Manual. The council marked the lot as suitable for small and medium-sized businesses, and the selected supplier is an SME, indicating that this requirement was deliverable by a smaller business. The work is specifically vehicle fitness testing for taxi and private hire licensing; suppliers whose expertise is limited to unrelated testing or general vehicle services would not match the stated requirement.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Taxi and Private Hire Testing Service

Notice Description

Contract to carry out inspections of existing and proposed hackney carriage and private hire vehicles to ensure that they meet the standards of fitness as set out in: (a) the Trafford Council Manual of Inspections ; and (b) the Vehicle Inspectorate MoT Inspection Manual.

Procurement Information

Following an unsuccessful Invitation to Tender, where the two bids received were non compliant, the outcome was non award of the competitive procedure and switching to a direct award. A UK12 Notice was published in error to advise termination of the tender process. There is no income or expenditure to to Council as a result of awarding this contract.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-077dec
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/092525-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK5 - Transparency Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

CPV Codes

71632000 - Technical testing services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£800,000 £500K-£1M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
30 Sep 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Oct 2026 - 21 Jun 2027 6-12 months
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
Trafford 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
MANCHESTER
Postcode
M32 0TH
Postcode Area
Manchester
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLD3 Greater Manchester
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLD34 Greater Manchester South West
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Trafford
Electoral Ward
Gorse Hill & Cornbrook
Westminster Constituency
Stretford and Urmston

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

KAR AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES LTD

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...