--- title: "Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - School and Special Transport Open Framework" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06e9b8" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06e9b8" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e9b8.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e9b8.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "Bedford Borough Council" published: "2026-08-21" --- # Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - School and Special Transport Open Framework Buyer: Bedford Borough Council Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06e9b8 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06e9b8) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e9b8.json) ## Summary Bedford Borough Council plans to establish a School and Special Transport Open Framework for passenger transport services. It will replace the existing Passenger Transport Dynamic Purchasing System and support the Council’s statutory home-to-school travel duties for eligible compulsory school-age children, as well as locally eligible post-16 students. Services will also cover Adult and Children’s Social Care transport, including contact sessions, day services and respite provision. The requirement may involve passenger cars, taxis, public road transport, non-scheduled transport and special-purpose passenger transport, including cars with drivers (CPV 60130000 and related codes). Transport will serve requirements within Bedford Borough and the wider United Kingdom location recorded for the service. This is a planning-stage preliminary market engagement exercise, not an invitation to tender. The Council expects to publish procurement documents in early September 2026, evaluate applications in October 2026, notify framework admission outcomes in November 2026, and award and commence the framework in November or December 2026. These are indicative expectations. The framework is intended to run from 1 December 2026 to 30 November 2029, with renewal permitted until 30 November 2030. The recorded procurement value is £0 (GBP). There is one planned lot, and the framework is expected to be run electronically through the ADAM eProcurement System. Providers may submit comments and clarification questions by email by 27 August 2026. The planned framework should suit passenger transport operators able to provide safe, reliable and compliant services for children, young people, adults and other service users. Relevant businesses may include taxi firms, private-hire and chauffeur operators, minibus and other passenger vehicle providers, and organisations arranging specialist or non-scheduled road transport. The range of users and journey types is likely to favour suppliers with flexible vehicle fleets, suitable drivers and the capacity to meet varied route and individual passenger requirements, including social care transport. Small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community or social enterprises are identified as suitable participants. Admission would position approved providers to compete for future framework call-off requirements. ## Notice Bedford Borough Council has a statutory duty to provide free home to school travel for compulsory school-aged children who meet nationally prescribed eligibility criteria and for post-16 students who meet locally determined criteria. To fulfil this duty, the Council commissions transport services from external providers using a range of vehicle types to meet the diverse needs of routes and individual passengers. In addition, the School and Specialist Transport Team arranges transport for a range of Adult and Children's Social Care requirements, including contact sessions, day services, and respite provision. To support the efficient and compliant procurement of these services, the Council is establishing a new Open Framework to replace the existing Passenger Transport Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). Bedford Borough Council is undertaking Preliminary Market Engagement in relation to the establishment of this new Open Framework for the provision of Home to School, Specialist Transport, and related passenger transport services. The Framework will replace the Council's existing Passenger Transport Dynamic Purchasing System and will be used to procure transport services for eligible children, young people, adults and other service users as required. The Council is publishing this notice to inform the market of the proposed procurement, provide an overview of the service requirements, and invite interested providers to engage with the opportunity. The procurement process is expected to be conducted electronically through the ADAM eProcurement System, with approved providers being eligible to participate in future call-off opportunities under the Open Framework. Indicative timescales are: Publication of procurement documents: Early September 2026 Evaluation of applications: October 2026 Notification of framework admission outcomes: November 2026 Framework award and commencement: November/ December 2026 These dates are indicative only and may be subject to change. This notice does not commence the procurement process and is intended solely to support market awareness and engagement ahead of the formal tender opportunity. Interested providers are encouraged to register their interest and participate in the forthcoming procurement opportunity when advertised. ### Planning Information Providers currently operating under the existing Passenger Transport DPS have been informed of the Council's intention to re-procure these services. This UK2 Preliminary Market Engagement Notice constitutes the Council's market engagement activity and is published to raise awareness of the forthcoming opportunity and provide all interested suppliers with an opportunity to submit comments and clarification questions. No further market engagement events are planned. Suppliers may submit comments and clarification questions via email to ian.fraser@bedford.gov.uk by the deadline stated in this notice. Responses may be shared with all interested suppliers to ensure transparency and equal access to information. Participation in this engagement is voluntary and will not be a condition of participation in any subsequent procurement process. The Council may use feedback received to inform the procurement strategy and tender documentation and reserves the right to amend its requirements and procurement approach accordingly. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079984-2026 | | Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Dynamic, Framework | | 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 Aug 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 4 Sep 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Dec 2026 - 30 Nov 2029 | | 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 | Bedford Borough Council | | Locality | BEDFORD | | Postcode area | Milton Keynes | | Postcode | MK42 9AP | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLH East (England) | | ITL 2 | TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | | ITL 3 | TLH24 Bedford | | Local authority | Bedford | | Electoral ward | Cauldwell | | Westminster constituency | Bedford | | Delivery location | TLH24 Bedford | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation - 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport) ### Codes - 34110000 - Passenger cars - 60112000 - Public road transport services - 60120000 - Taxi services - 60130000 - Special-purpose road passenger-transport services - 60140000 - Non-scheduled passenger transport - 60171000 - Hire of passenger cars with driver ## Release History - 21 Aug 2026 at 14:44 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079984-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079984-2026 21st August 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-06e9b8. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e9b8.json.