--- title: "Bus Franchising - Bus Operator Market Engagement - Non-Anchor Contracts for Phase 2 franchising (2028) and Phase 3 franchising (2029)" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-069fff" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-069fff" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-069fff.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-069fff.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "SOUTH YORKSHIRE MAYORAL COMBINED AUTHORITY" published: "2026-05-21" --- # Bus Franchising - Bus Operator Market Engagement - Non-Anchor Contracts for Phase 2 franchising (2028) and Phase 3 franchising (2029) Buyer: SOUTH YORKSHIRE MAYORAL COMBINED AUTHORITY Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-069fff [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-069fff) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-069fff.json) ## Summary The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, located in Sheffield, is spearheading a procurement process for bus franchising non-anchor contracts as part of their upcoming phases in 2028 and 2029. The process is currently in the planning stage, and the interested parties are invited for engagement sessions. These market engagement meetings will occur between 22nd June and 3rd July 2026, either in person at their Sheffield office or online via Microsoft Teams. Businesses must notify their availability by 1st June 2026. This initiative falls under the services category, particularly within road transport services, targeting the UKE3 region in the United Kingdom. This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs), as it aims to engage bus operators interested in new contracts. The focus on non-anchor contracts for subsequent phases ensures that a wide array of businesses, especially those in the road transport sector, can tap into potential growth opportunities by positioning themselves as key players in the South Yorkshire public transport landscape. Engaging early with SYMCA could provide strategic insights and help businesses align their capabilities to maximise competitiveness in future bidding rounds. ## Notice We would like to invite bus operators to attend a 1-to-1 meeting with members of South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority's (SYMCA) Bus Franchising Team, either in-person or online, as part of our next round of Bus Franchising operator market engagement. These individual sessions will focus on providing updates and discussing any questions you may have regarding the non-anchor depot contracts for Phase 2 (2028) and Phase 3 (2029). ### Planning Information We would like to invite bus operators to attend a 1-to-1 meeting with members of South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority's (SYMCA) Bus Franchising Team, either in-person or online, as part of our next round of Bus Franchising operator market engagement. These individual sessions will focus on providing updates and discussing any questions you may have regarding the non-anchor depot contracts for Phase 2 (2028) and Phase 3 (2029). We have dedicated the following 30-minute time slots to meet with bus operators that may be interested in bidding for non-anchor contracts for future phases. Please respond to busfranchising@southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk by Monday 1st June 2026 to let us know which slot(s) you are available for, and who we should send an invitation to. Please confirm as many available dates as possible to help us ensure you receive a slot which works for you. Additionally, please advise if you would prefer an in-person meet at SYMCA's office (South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority 11 Broad Street West Sheffield, S1 2BQ ), or an online session via Microsoft Teams. Available slots: Monday 22nd June 2026 09:30-10:00 10:15-10:45 11:00-11:30 11:45-12:15 13:00-13:30 Tuesday 23rd June 2026 09:30-10:00 10:15-10:45 11:00-11:30 11:45-12:15 13:00-13:30 Wednesday 24th June 2026 09:30-10:00 10:15-10:45 11:00-11:30 11:45-12:15 13:00-13:30 Monday 29th June 2026 09:30-10:00 10:15-10:45 11:00-11:30 11:45-12:15 13:00-13:30 Wednesday 1st July 2026 09:30-10:00 10:15-10:45 11:00-11:30 11:45-12:15 13:00-13:30 13:45-14:15 15:00-15:30 16:00-16:30 Thursday 2nd July 2026 09:30-10:00 10:15-10:45 11:00-11:30 11:45-12:15 13:00-13:30 13:45-14:15 15:00-15:30 16:00-16:30 Friday 3rd July 2026 09:30-10:00 10:15-10:45 11:00-11:30 11:45-12:15 13:00-13:30 13:45-14:15 15:00-15:30 16:00-16:30 If you cannot make any of the above dates or times, please contact us at busfranchising@southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk and we will do our best to accommodate you. You will receive a calendar invitation as soon as your session is confirmed, and please expect to meet members of our SYMCA team, which will include our Head of Franchised Network and Procurement Officer as a minimum. Please note - these sessions are to discuss non-anchor contracts for franchising Phases 2 (2028) and 3 (2029) only. We cannot discuss Phase 1 (2027) at this forum and will direct any queries regarding Phase 1 to the formal procurement procedure. All query responses will be recorded and distributed to all bidders as part of the Phase 2 and Phase 3 procurement process once this is live. This is to ensure complete fairness and transparency for all. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/047400-2026 | | Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 21 May 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 1 Jun 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Feb 2028 - 31 Jan 2033 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Planning | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | SOUTH YORKSHIRE MAYORAL COMBINED AUTHORITY | | Locality | SHEFFIELD | | Post town | Sheffield | | Postcode | S1 2BQ | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber | | ITL 2 | TLE3 South Yorkshire | | ITL 3 | TLE32 Sheffield | | Local authority | Sheffield | | Electoral ward | City | | Westminster constituency | Sheffield Central | | Delivery location | TLE3 South Yorkshire | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport) ### Codes - 60100000 - Road transport services ## Release History - 21 May 2026 at 16:19 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/047400-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/047400-2026 21st May 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - 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-069fff. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-069fff.json.