---
title: "Provision of Student Travel and Bus Pass Services for Glasgow Clyde College"
ocid: "ocds-r6ebe6-0000843222"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000843222"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000843222.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000843222.json"
source: "Public Contracts Scotland"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Glasgow Clyde College"
published: "2026-09-16"
---

# Provision of Student Travel and Bus Pass Services for Glasgow Clyde College

Buyer: Glasgow Clyde College  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000843222

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## Summary

Glasgow Clyde College procured student travel and bus pass services for eligible students. The requirement covers supplying and administering travel passes and providing a single, integrated public transport network for journeys to and from Anniesland, Langside and Cardonald campuses. The service is intended to provide reliable coverage across the College’s catchment area in Glasgow and surrounding communities, with suitable connections, service frequency, ticketing and pass-management arrangements. This is a public transport service rather than a vehicle purchase or standalone travel-management system. Glasgow Clyde College is the public-sector education buyer, and delivery is centred on its three Glasgow campuses and the wider area from which its students travel.

The procurement is complete and was awarded directly to First Bus Scotland. Glasgow Clyde College used a limited procedure without prior publication of a competition notice, relying on the stated absence of a reasonable technical alternative or substitute. The contract was awarded and signed on 16 September 2026, with an active contract value of £120,000. The requirement was arranged as one lot. The contract duration is two years, with the lot description referring to an option to extend for a further 12 months, although the lot record also states that options are not used. The award was outside the scope of the relevant procurement directive and covered by the Government Procurement Agreement.

This award demonstrates demand from Glasgow Clyde College for an integrated student transport arrangement rather than separate operators serving individual campuses. A credible future competitor would need an extensive bus network across Glasgow and surrounding communities, with routes connecting Anniesland, Langside and Cardonald campuses and sufficient frequency to support attendance. It would also need the operational capacity to handle the anticipated volume of student journeys, together with reliable travel-pass supply, administration and integrated ticketing. Coverage, accessibility and dependable day-to-day service delivery are central requirements. The buyer’s stated rationale indicates that it values a single network and straightforward administration, so suppliers would need to demonstrate equivalent geographic reach and a coherent end-to-end pass-management service rather than only isolated routes or ticket products.

## Notice

Glasgow Clyde College intends to award a contract directly to First Bus for the provision of student travel and bus pass services. The College requires a transport solution that provides comprehensive coverage across its catchment area, enabling students to travel to and from College campuses using a single, integrated public transport network.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The contract relates to the provision of student bus travel services, including the supply and administration of travel passes for eligible students attending Glasgow Clyde College. The College serves students from a wide geographical area throughout Glasgow and surrounding communities. It requires a transport provider capable of offering a comprehensive and integrated network that enables students to travel reliably to and from the College's campuses. The College has undertaken a review of available public transport operators and has concluded that First Bus is the only operator able to provide the necessary network coverage across the full catchment area whilst meeting operational, accessibility and service requirements. The contract duration is for two years with the option to extend for a further 12 months.

### Procurement Information

The College considers that the conditions for a direct award are satisfied because competition is absent for technical reasons and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists. First Bus operates the only transport network capable of delivering the required combination of: Geographical coverage across the College's catchment area; Connectivity to all College campuses; Sufficient service frequency to support student attendance; Integrated ticketing and pass management arrangements; Operational capacity to support the volume of anticipated student travel. The College has determined that no other operator is capable of meeting the requirement in its entirety and that the appointment of multiple operators would not provide an equivalent solution and would create significant operational and administrative complexity.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Public Contracts Scotland |
| Latest notice | https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=SEP564675 |
| Notice type | OJEU - F15 - Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 16 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £120,000 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Glasgow Clyde College |
| Locality | GLASGOW |
| Postcode area | Glasgow |
| Postcode | G52 3AY |
| Country | Scotland |
| ITL 1 | TLM Scotland |
| ITL 2 | TLM3 West Central Scotland |
| ITL 3 | TLM32 Glasgow City |
| Local authority | Glasgow City |
| Electoral ward | Cardonald |
| Westminster constituency | Glasgow South West |
| Delivery location | TLM82 Glasgow City |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | First Bus Scotland |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation
- 63 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services

### Codes

- 34121100 - Public-service buses
- 63515000 - Travel services

## Release History

- 16 Sep 2026 at 01:00 - Award - OJEU - F15 - Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=SEP564675

## Documents

- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=SEP564675
  Provision of Student Travel and Bus Pass Services for Glasgow Clyde College - Glasgow Clyde College intends to award a contract directly to First Bus for the provision of student travel and bus pass services. The College requires a transport solution that provides comprehensive coverage across its catchment area, enabling students to travel to and from College campuses using a single, integrated public transport network.

## Notice URLs

- http://
- http://www.glasgowclyde.ac.uk
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000843222
- https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/

## 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-r6ebe6-0000843222. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000843222.json.