---
title: "Bus Franchising Round 1 - Tier A"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06e7a5"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06e7a5"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e7a5.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e7a5.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "West Yorkshire Combined Authority"
published: "2026-08-19"
---

# Bus Franchising Round 1 - Tier A

Buyer: West Yorkshire Combined Authority  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06e7a5

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## Summary

West Yorkshire Combined Authority is procuring franchised public bus transport services for three areas: Leeds 1 (Bramley), Kirklees (Dewsbury) and Kirklees (Huddersfield). The requirement is to operate public road transport services under Bus Franchising Round 1 – Tier A franchise agreements. Delivery is across West Yorkshire, covering the Leeds and Kirklees areas. The buyer is the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, based in Leeds. The procurement concerns services rather than goods, construction or consultancy. It is relevant to bus operators and transport groups able to run local public bus networks under franchise arrangements, particularly businesses with an operational presence or delivery capability in West Yorkshire. The requirement was divided into one lot covering all three franchise areas, with separate awards for each named area.

The procurement has reached the award stage and is recorded as complete. It used a selective competitive flexible procedure under the utilities regime. Twenty-three bids were received, with nine valid bids reaching the final stage. Awards were made on 19 August 2026: Leeds 1 (Bramley) to First West Yorkshire Limited for £150,000,000 excluding VAT (£180,000,000 including VAT); Kirklees (Dewsbury) to Transdev Blazefield Limited for £67,000,000 excluding VAT (£80,400,000 including VAT); and Kirklees (Huddersfield) to First West Yorkshire Limited for £103,000,000 excluding VAT (£123,600,000 including VAT). Each contract is due to run from 29 August 2026 to 30 May 2032, with two one-year extensions available at the Combined Authority’s discretion, allowing a maximum period to 28 May 2034. The awards were subject to a standstill ending on 28 August 2026, with signature scheduled for 29 August 2026.

This procurement demonstrates substantial, recurring demand from West Yorkshire Combined Authority for franchised public bus operations across Leeds and Kirklees. A supplier considering future requirements would need to operate public bus services at significant regional scale, manage delivery across multiple franchise areas and meet the practical demands of local network operation. The competition attracted established operators including First West Yorkshire, Transdev Blazefield, Arriva Yorkshire, Metroline West Yorkshire, Diamond Bus (North West), Go-Ahead, Yorkshire Traction, Tower Transit Operations and Transport UK (Operations). The selected suppliers were large bus companies, indicating that operational capacity, relevant public transport experience and the ability to sustain franchise delivery are commercially important. Businesses with a credible West Yorkshire operating model, suitable fleet and workforce capacity, and experience managing comparable bus networks would be best placed when this buyer next tests the requirement.

## Notice

Bus Franchising Round 1 Tier A Franchise Agreements: Leeds 1 (Bramley) Kirklees (Dewsbury) Kirklees (Huddersfield)

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078999-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Competitive flexible procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 19 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 19 Aug 2026 |
| Contract period | 29 Aug 2026 - 30 May 2032 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £320,000,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | West Yorkshire Combined Authority |
| Locality | LEEDS |
| Postcode area | Leeds |
| Postcode | LS1 2DE |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber |
| ITL 2 | TLE4 West Yorkshire |
| ITL 3 | TLE42 Leeds |
| Local authority | Leeds |
| Electoral ward | Little London & Woodhouse |
| Westminster constituency | Leeds Central and Headingley |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 2 |
| Supplier names | FIRST WEST YORKSHIRE LIMITED; TRANSDEV BLAZEFIELD LIMITED |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

### Codes

- 60112000 - Public road transport services

## Release History

- 19 Aug 2026 at 13:40 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078999-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078999-2026
  19th August 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://towertransit.co.uk
- http://www.go-ahead.com
- http://www.metroline.co.uk
- http://www.transdevbus.co.uk
- http://www.transport-uk.com
- https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/
- https://www.diamondbuses.com/north-west/
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsReleasePackages/ocds-h6vhtk-0589b9
- https://www.firstbus.co.uk/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.stagecoachbus.com/about/yorkshire

## 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-06e7a5. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e7a5.json.