---
title: "Public Bus Service (Lot 5) EXPR1 Sowton P&R - Exeter City Centre"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-07e25d97-9bed-46aa-bdca-71faec47297c"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-07e25d97-9bed-46aa-bdca-71faec47297c"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-07e25d97-9bed-46aa-bdca-71faec47297c.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-07e25d97-9bed-46aa-bdca-71faec47297c.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Devon County Council"
published: "2026-09-11"
---

# Public Bus Service (Lot 5) EXPR1 Sowton P&R - Exeter City Centre

Buyer: Devon County Council  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-07e25d97-9bed-46aa-bdca-71faec47297c

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## Summary

Devon County Council procured a local public bus service operating as PR1 between Sowton Park & Ride and Exeter city centre. The service runs Monday to Saturday, excluding public holidays, and is intended to provide passenger transport connecting the park-and-ride facility with the city centre. This is a passenger transport service rather than a goods supply or construction project, classified under CPV 60000000 for transport services. Delivery is in Exeter and the surrounding South West area of England. The requirement was run as a mini-competition under Devon County Council’s Passenger Transport Dynamic Purchasing System, Lot 5. It is identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises, while the procurement was not reserved for voluntary, community or social enterprises.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded to Stagecoach South West on 24 July 2026. The award value is £424,541.34 including the stated currency of GBP. The contract period runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2034. Devon County Council used a selective procurement route described as a restricted procedure, through a mini-competition from Lot 5 of its Passenger Transport Dynamic Purchasing System. The tender submission deadline was 1 July 2026 at 12:00. The published estimated procurement value was £100,000, while the awarded value is reported separately above. The award is active. The contract conditions allow either the contractor or the council to give notice to terminate in accordance with the applicable standard conditions.

This requirement demonstrates established demand from Devon County Council for contracted scheduled bus operations linking a park-and-ride site with Exeter city centre. A credible future competitor would need the operational capability to run a local passenger service six days a week, excluding public holidays, and to manage reliable connections between Sowton and the city centre. Relevant experience in bus network operations, driver and vehicle resourcing, timetable delivery, passenger service and compliance with public transport contract conditions would be important. The award to a large established operator indicates that bidders must be able to sustain service delivery over a long-term public transport contract. Smaller operators are expressly within the intended supplier market, provided they can demonstrate sufficient operational capacity and service resilience.

## Notice

This is a mini-competition from Lot 5 of the Devon County Council Passenger Transport Dynamic Purchasing System (CP1185-15). For the supply and provision of local bus service PR1 operating between Sowton Park & Ride and Exeter city centre Monday to Saturday (Except Public Holidays). The projected duration of the contract is eight years, however the Devon County Council (DCC) Passenger Transport Standard Conditions of Contract still apply, and therefore either the contractor or DCC can give notice as per the terms and conditions to terminate the contract at any time. EXPR1

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/79cd82e2-6cef-43d6-a730-3b02b80e65f5 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Dynamic |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Restricted procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 24 Jul 2026 |
| Contract period | 1 Sep 2026 - 31 Aug 2034 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £100,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £424,541 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Devon County Council |
| Locality | EXETER |
| Postcode area | Exeter |
| Postcode | EX2 4QD |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK4 Devon |
| ITL 3 | TLK43 Devon CC |
| Local authority | Exeter |
| Electoral ward | Newtown and St Leonard's |
| Westminster constituency | Exeter |
| Delivery location | TLK South West (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Stagecoach South West |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

### Codes

- 60000000 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

## Release History

- 11 Sep 2026 at 10:49 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/79cd82e2-6cef-43d6-a730-3b02b80e65f5

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/79cd82e2-6cef-43d6-a730-3b02b80e65f5
  11th September 2026 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-07e25d97-9bed-46aa-bdca-71faec47297c. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-07e25d97-9bed-46aa-bdca-71faec47297c.json.