---
title: "The Fares, Ticketing & Retail Subject Matter Expert"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-539b6e55-7604-46f3-b0b3-b310d06488a9"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-539b6e55-7604-46f3-b0b3-b310d06488a9"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-539b6e55-7604-46f3-b0b3-b310d06488a9.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-539b6e55-7604-46f3-b0b3-b310d06488a9.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "West Midlands Combined Authority"
published: "2026-09-28"
---

# The Fares, Ticketing & Retail Subject Matter Expert

Buyer: West Midlands Combined Authority  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-539b6e55-7604-46f3-b0b3-b310d06488a9

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## Summary

West Midlands Combined Authority, through Transport for West Midlands, commissioned specialist consultancy on bus fares, ticketing and retail for its Bus Reform Programme and franchising readiness work. The services cover reviewing existing arrangements across the authority and bus operators; analysing customer experience, accessibility, retail channels and customer journeys; and developing strategic options, recommendations and implementation considerations for a future franchised bus network. The work also includes assessing commercial, technical, operational and revenue-management issues, benchmarking transport-sector practice and trends, and preparing strategic roadmaps, programme-planning input, risks and dependencies. The consultant is expected to engage stakeholders, take part in workshops and present findings, with wider advice across programme workstreams where fares, ticketing, retail or commercial expertise is needed. Delivery is for the West Midlands, United Kingdom.

The procurement is complete and the contract has been awarded to Waterman Aspen Ltd. The award was made on 13 July 2026, following a selective procedure using a call-off from a framework agreement. The awarded value is £151,200. The contract period runs from 1 June 2026 to 31 March 2027. The tender submission deadline was 28 May 2026 at 12 noon. The recorded procurement information does not set out the evaluation criteria or a division into lots. The requirement was identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. The selected supplier is itself recorded as an SME.

This award demonstrates a defined requirement for consultancy combining public transport fares and ticketing expertise with commercial, technical and operational analysis. Suppliers seeking to compete when this buyer’s requirement returns would need to show they can assess arrangements spanning a transport authority and bus operators, understand customer journeys and accessibility, and develop workable options for a franchised bus environment. Credibility also depends on transport-sector benchmarking, revenue-management knowledge, strategic roadmapping and the ability to identify programme risks and dependencies. Stakeholder engagement, workshop facilitation and clear presentation of recommendations are central delivery capabilities, alongside flexibility to advise across related bus-reform workstreams. The contract was awarded through a framework call-off, so relevant framework access and the ability to deliver a focused specialist consultancy assignment would also be important.

## Notice

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) requires specialist consultancy support to provide strategic and technical expertise in relation to fares, ticketing and retail arrangements as part of the Bus Reform Programme and franchising readiness activities. The services to be provided will include: * Review and assessment of existing fares, ticketing and retail arrangements across TfWM and bus operators, * Analysis of customer experience, accessibility, retail channels and customer journeys; * Development of strategic options, recommendations and implementations considerations for a future franchised environment; * Review of commercial, technical, operational and revenue management considerations associated with fares and ticketing arrangements; * Benchmarking against industry best practise and emerging trends within the transport sector; * Development of strategic roadmaps, programme planning inputs and risk and dependency considerations; * Stakeholder engagement, workshop participation and presentation of findings and recommendation and * Wider advisory support across relevant Bus Reform Programme workstreams where specialist fares, ticketing, retail or commercial expertise is required.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/dc10d21b-f445-433d-a6f7-4efcc0135018 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Call-off from a framework agreement |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 28 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 13 Jul 2026 |
| Contract period | 1 Jun 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £151,200 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £151,200 |
| 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 | West Midlands Combined Authority |
| Locality | BIRMINGHAM |
| Postcode area | Birmingham |
| Postcode | B19 3SD |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLG3 West Midlands |
| ITL 3 | TLG31 Birmingham |
| Local authority | Birmingham |
| Electoral ward | Newtown |
| Westminster constituency | Birmingham Ladywood |
| Delivery location | TLG West Midlands (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Waterman Aspen |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 71311200 - Transport systems consultancy services
- 79410000 - Business and management consultancy services

## Release History

- 28 Sep 2026 at 16:36 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/dc10d21b-f445-433d-a6f7-4efcc0135018

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/dc10d21b-f445-433d-a6f7-4efcc0135018
  28th 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-b5fd17-539b6e55-7604-46f3-b0b3-b310d06488a9. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-539b6e55-7604-46f3-b0b3-b310d06488a9.json.