--- title: "Provision of Southend-on-Sea South Local Bus Service 2026" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-066c5a" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-066c5a" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066c5a.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066c5a.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "SOUTHEND-ON-SEA CITY COUNCIL" published: "2026-05-01" --- # Provision of Southend-on-Sea South Local Bus Service 2026 Buyer: SOUTHEND-ON-SEA CITY COUNCIL Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-066c5a [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-066c5a) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066c5a.json) ## Summary Southend-on-Sea City Council has initiated an open procurement process to find a suitable supplier for the provision of a new local bus service in Southend-on-Sea. This service is intended to address the lack of direct transport links between Southend Travel Centre, London Southend Airport, and Temple Farm Industrial Estate, benefiting several wards within the city. The tender, titled "Provision of Southend-on-Sea South Local Bus Service 2026," falls under the services category with a primary focus on transport services. The tender submission will occur through Southend-on-Sea's Electronic Tender Facility, with relevant responses required by 5th June 2026. The service is part of the "active" procurement stage, encompassing an estimated contract value of £1,470,000 and a contract period from 1st November 2026 to 4th November 2028, with potential extensions up to November 2029. This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses involved in transport services, especially those keen on expanding their regional operations. Companies with expertise in providing public road transport services, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are well-suited for this contract, which could foster growth by establishing strong links within the Southend-on-Sea area. Furthermore, businesses capable of offering comprehensive solutions that align with the strategic goals of the local council and accommodate local government reform and devolution changes will find this procurement particularly beneficial in securing long-term engagements and enhancing their service portfolio. ## Notice Southend-on-Sea City Council (SCC) is seeking to appoint a suitable supplier for the provision of a South Bus Service operating within Southend on Sea. The detail of which can be found below. Scope: Currently there are no commercial bus services which provide a service with a direct link into Airport land, operating between Southend Travel Centre and London Southend Airport and Temple Farm Industrial Estate. This new bus service will support residents within St. Laurence; Prittlewell; St. Luke's; Southchurch; Victoria; Kursall; Milton Wards and enable new connections across the city. Consultation for the BSIP identified many residents wanted to see a route from the Eastern area of Southend-on-Sea into London Southend Airport and considered that such a service could enable new connections across the city and avoid the need to travel into the city centre to change buses. This new bus service will also support local businesses along the route including the Temple Farm Industrial areas of the city, that have no, or very few, bus services linking them direct to other parts of the city. Local Government Reform & Devolution: The contracting authority is Southend-on-Sea City Council and any Successor Body meaning one or more entities which assumes any of the Council's functions (as applicable) as a result of Local Government Reform (LGR). Such successor body or bodies may be, without limitation, a local authority, a combined county authority, a strategic authority or any other status determined pursuant to the Devolution and LGR Legislation. ### Lot Information Lot 1 Renewal: Provision to extend for a further 12 months. ### Planning Information Engagement process description Southend-on-Sea City Council will be holding an online Teams market engagement event for this service on 31st March 2026 (subject to availability). The Market Engagement Event will cover the following: - Overview of the Service - Proposed Procurement Approach - Indicative Procurement Timeline - Q&A Session with Suppliers The Council will use all reasonable endeavours to respond to questions raised within the session. The session will be recorded. To register your interest in this opportunity, please email Procurement at lucygayler@southend.gov.uk and provide the following information: - Name of your registered organisation - Names and Email Addresses of Attendees for the Market Engagement Event - Acceptance of your availability. Important Information: Respondents are advised that the purpose of this notice is to engage in dialogue with the market. The scope of service, date of publication or potential contract value should not be taken as a final "version" of requirement. This notice is not a call for competition to procure any services and is not published to reduce time limited for the receipt of tenders. Interested parties will not be prejudiced by any response or (lack) to this notice. Nor shall a response to this notice guarantee an invitation to participate in any future procurement process that Southend-on-Sea City Council may conduct. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040661-2026 | | Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Open | | Procurement method details | Open procedure | | Tender suitability | SME | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning, Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 1 May 2026 | | Submission deadline | 5 Jun 2026 | | Future notice date | 1 May 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Nov 2026 - 4 Nov 2028 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £1,470,000 | | Lots value | £1,470,000 | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Active | | Lots status | Active | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | SOUTHEND-ON-SEA CITY COUNCIL | | Locality | SOUTHEND-ON-SEA | | Post town | Southend-on-Sea | | Postcode | SS2 6FA | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLH East (England) | | ITL 2 | TLH3 Essex | | ITL 3 | TLH31 Southend-on-Sea | | Local authority | Southend-on-Sea | | Electoral ward | Victoria | | Westminster constituency | Southend East and Rochford | | Delivery location | TLH31 Southend-on-Sea | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation - 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport) ### Codes - 34000000 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation - 60000000 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport) ## Release History - 1 May 2026 at 14:30 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040661-2026 - 17 Mar 2026 at 14:11 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/024109-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040661-2026 1st May 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/024109-2026 17th March 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://procurement.southend.gov.uk/southend/portal.nsf/index.htm - 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-066c5a. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066c5a.json.