---
title: "Coventry Electric Bus City - Bus Routes"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-059e54"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-059e54"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-059e54.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-059e54.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY"
published: "2026-05-08"
---

# Coventry Electric Bus City - Bus Routes

Buyer: WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-059e54

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## Summary

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has successfully awarded contracts as part of the Coventry Electric Bus City initiative, focusing on renewing tendered bus services within the Coventry/Solihull region. The procurement process falls under the public authority sub-central government category, employing an open procedure to ensure fair competition. The contracts, titled "Coventry Electric Bus City - Bus Routes," cover services in Birmingham, UKG region, and include two lots with a total estimated spend of approximately £21,650,000. The contract term is set from 19 July 2026 to 18 July 2031, with potential extensions up to 2036. This initiative aligns with the statutory duties to foster a sustainable passenger transport network and requires a fully electric fleet within 12 months of the contract start date, indicating WMCA's commitment to sustainable transportation.

This procurement presents significant opportunities for business growth, particularly for large-scale transport service companies focusing on electric vehicle operations. Businesses capable of providing or transitioning to an all-electric bus fleet are particularly well-suited to benefit from this initiative, as the tender emphasizes electrification with deadlines for implementation. Companies that can align with this ecological mandate while offering competitive pricing and technical proficiency are most likely to thrive. Additionally, the provision for a subsequent procurement phase under similar conditions offers sustained business prospects, potentially ensuring long-term engagements with public authorities for the awarded suppliers.

## Notice

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) supports the provision of an extensive passenger transport network across the West Midlands, both in fulfilment of statutory duties and to enable access to facilities and services. The WMCA supports the provision of local bus services, by financially subsidising routes that are not provided on a commercial basis by private operators. Current Subsidised Bus Contracts expiring on 18th July 2026 need to be re-procured in order to ensure the routes contained within each contract remain operational. There are two (2) Lots of contracts, with an aggregated estimated total spend value (including extensions) of circa PS21,650,000. The aim of this procurement exercise is to renew existing tendered bus services within the Coventry/Solihull region, whilst aligning with the Coventry Electric Bus City scheme which requires a fully electric fleet (in this case within 12 months of the contract start date.) This contract will overlap with Tranche 1 of franchised bus services operational in Coventry. The contract includes a change control mechanism to allow for changes to the services to align with the service model which will be delivered under franchising (yet to be determined). This could include vehicle livery, data provision, fares and ticketing initiatives etc. The end date of the contract, with the extensions, will enable the service to be included in the franchised network at the first renewal point of the Coventry lots. A shorter contract would not be commercially viable for the operator therefore a 5-year initial term, and up to a 5-year extension, has been agreed upon to offer best value for money and to ensure operators get return from the significant required investment in electric vehicles. WMCA intends to carry out a subsequent procurement of similar goods, services or works in reliance on the direct award justification in paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to the PA 2023, which is expected to be needed after the expiry of the contract. The X30 service is expected to be a potential subsequent procurement and will be undertaken once funding arrangements have been agreed. The X30 (Coventry Railway Station to Ansty Park) falls within the scope of Lot 1, therefore award of the X30 contract will only be permissible to the winning bidder of Lot 1 and will be awarded via a Direct Award process if undertaken. The Procurement Act 2023 stipulates that this is compliant under the following clause: "The public contract concerns the supply of goods, services or works by the existing supplier that are similar to existing goods, services or works where-- (a)the existing goods, services or works were supplied under a public contract that was awarded in accordance with a competitive tendering procedure within the period of five years ending with the day on which the transparency notice is published, and (b)the tender notice or any tender document in respect of that earlier contract set out-- (i)the contracting authority's intention to carry out a subsequent procurement of similar goods, services or works in reliance on this direct award justification, and (ii)any other information specified in regulations under section 95."

### Lot Information

T0945

Renewal: Optional extensions for up to 5 years, in any increment, to a final possible expiry date of 18th July 2036, at the sole discretion of the Authority.

T0946

Renewal: Optional extensions for up to 5 years, in any increment, to a final possible expiry date of 18th July 2036, at the sole discretion of the Authority.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/042607-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 8 May 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 17 Oct 2025 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 4 Feb 2026 |
| Contract period | 18 Jul 2026 - 19 Jul 2031 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £25,980,000 |
| Lots value | £25,980,000 |
| Awards value | £35,688,615 |
| Contracts value | £42,902,621 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active, Pending |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY |
| Locality | BIRMINGHAM |
| Post town | 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 | MIDLAND RED (SOUTH |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation
- 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

### Codes

- 34121100 - Public-service buses
- 60000000 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

## Release History

- 8 May 2026 at 13:58 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/042607-2026
- 4 Feb 2026 at 11:20 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009870-2026
- 19 Sep 2025 at 14:36 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/058208-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/042607-2026
  8th May 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009870-2026
  4th February 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/058208-2025
  19th September 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://nxbus.co.uk
- http://www.WMCA.org.uk
- http://www.stagecoachbus.com
- https://wmca.bravosolution.co.uk/go/41304101019962622E56
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-h6vhtk-059e54. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-059e54.json.