---
title: "Taxi and Private Hire Testing Service"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-077dec"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077dec"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077dec.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077dec.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Trafford Council"
published: "2026-09-30"
---

# Taxi and Private Hire Testing Service

Buyer: Trafford Council  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-077dec

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077dec)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077dec.json)

## Summary

Trafford Council commissioned vehicle inspection and technical testing services for existing and proposed hackney carriage and private hire vehicles. The purpose is to check that vehicles meet the fitness standards in the council’s Manual of Inspections and the Vehicle Inspectorate MoT Inspection Manual. The work is for the council’s taxi and private hire licensing requirements and is delivered in the United Kingdom; no more specific delivery place is identified.

The procurement reached award by direct award after the competitive tender was unsuccessful: both bids received were non-compliant, so no supplier was selected through that competition. KAR Automotive Services Ltd was selected for the single lot. The award value is £800,000. The award was published on 30 September 2026. The contract period runs from 1 October 2026 to 21 June 2027, with an option to extend for up to three further years in 12-month increments, potentially to 21 June 2030. The stated reason for the direct award was the unsuccessful competition. The council’s rationale says the award creates no income or expenditure for it.

This award demonstrates demand from Trafford Council for inspections of hackney carriage and private hire vehicles, including vehicles proposed for use as well as those already operating. A credible competitor for a future requirement would need to provide vehicle inspection and technical testing against both the council’s own inspection manual and the Vehicle Inspectorate’s MoT Inspection Manual. The council marked the lot as suitable for small and medium-sized businesses, and the selected supplier is an SME, indicating that this requirement was deliverable by a smaller business. The work is specifically vehicle fitness testing for taxi and private hire licensing; suppliers whose expertise is limited to unrelated testing or general vehicle services would not match the stated requirement.

## Notice

Contract to carry out inspections of existing and proposed hackney carriage and private hire vehicles to ensure that they meet the standards of fitness as set out in: (a) the Trafford Council Manual of Inspections ; and (b) the Vehicle Inspectorate MoT Inspection Manual.

### Procurement Information

Following an unsuccessful Invitation to Tender, where the two bids received were non compliant, the outcome was non award of the competitive procedure and switching to a direct award. A UK12 Notice was published in error to advise termination of the tender process. There is no income or expenditure to to Council as a result of awarding this contract.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/092525-2026 |
| Notice type | UK5 - Transparency Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 30 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Oct 2026 - 21 Jun 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £800,000 |
| 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 | Trafford Council |
| Locality | MANCHESTER |
| Postcode area | Manchester |
| Postcode | M32 0TH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLD North West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLD3 Greater Manchester |
| ITL 3 | TLD34 Greater Manchester South West |
| Local authority | Trafford |
| Electoral ward | Gorse Hill & Cornbrook |
| Westminster constituency | Stretford and Urmston |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | KAR AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES LTD |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

### Codes

- 71632000 - Technical testing services

## Release History

- 30 Sep 2026 at 15:57 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/092525-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/092525-2026
  30th September 2026 - Transparency 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-077dec. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077dec.json.