Official UK procurement notice
Award of Ceredigion - Learner Transport - Buses 2026/ Dyfarniad Cludiant Dysgwyr Ceredigion - Bysiau 2026
Authority: Ceredigion County Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionCeredigion County Council is awarding for the provision of the Learner Transport Bus Routes. Contracts will commence on 1 August 2026. Contracts will be for 2 years with a possible extension of up to 2 years or 4 years with a possible extension of up to 2 years.The estimated value is between £2,500,000 and £3,900,000 for the full term of the contract including all extensions. Please note that the contract value provided within this notice represents an estimate prepared by the Council. It is issued for guidance only and does not constitute a fixed budget or an indication of the expected contract price. Bidders are expected to submit a competitive bid based on market prices.
Mae Cyngor Sir Ceredigion yn dyfarnu contract ar gyfer darparu llwybrau bysiau Cludiant Dysgwyr. Bydd y contractau'n cychwyn ar 1 Awst 2026.
Bydd y contractau naill ai am gyfnod o 2 flynedd gyda'r posibilrwydd o estyniad o hyd at 2 flynedd, neu am gyfnod o 4 blynedd gyda'r posibilrwydd o estyniad o hyd at 2 flynedd.
Amcangyfrifir y bydd gwerth y contract rhwng £2,500,000 a £3,900,000 dros gyfnod llawn y contract, gan gynnwys pob estyniad.
Noder fod gwerth y contract a nodir yn yr hysbysiad hwn yn amcangyfrif a baratowyd gan y Cyngor. Fe'i darperir at ddibenion canllaw yn unig ac nid yw'n cynrychioli cyllideb benodol nac yn arwydd o bris disgwyliedig y contract. Disgwylir i dendrwyr gyflwyno tendr cystadleuol yn seiliedig ar brisiau'r farchnad.
- No preliminary market engagement: No pre-market engagement was undertaken prior to issuing this tender. This decision was made on the basis that the requirement relates to well-established and mature transport bus services, for which there is an existing and competitive supplier market with known capability to deliver the contract. The Council has prior experience of procuring similar services and has sufficient internal knowledge of the market to develop a clear and proportionate specification without the need for additional engagement. Furthermore, undertaking pre-market engagement was not considered necessary in this instance as it would not have materially influenced the design of the procurement or improved outcomes, and proceeding directly to tender has supported a timely procurement process.
CPV: Hire of passenger transport vehicles with driver · Public road transport services · Special-purpose road passenger-transport services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£1
- Economic & financial standing
Economic
- Technical & professional ability
Relevant Experience
Technical Capacity & Specialist Equipment
Qualified Personnel
Environmental Compliance & Management
Capacity & Throughput
Health & Safety Requirements
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (1)
- Commercial: 100%
Published award criteria (1)
- Commercial
- Economic & financial standing
Economic
- Technical & professional ability
Relevant Experience
Technical Capacity & Specialist Equipment
Qualified Personnel
Environmental Compliance & Management
Capacity & Throughput
Health & Safety Requirements
- Price carries 100 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 10 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA, CPTPP)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 22 May 2026, 10:56 BST
- Last source update
- 20 Jul 2026, 15:56 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 15 Jul 2026
- Authority reference
itt_124280- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-047642- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06a093Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
See tender documents.
- Risks
There is an inherent risk that pupil numbers may fluctuate during the contract period due to changes in eligibility, school placements, demographic trends, or mid‑year admissions and withdrawals. Such variations may result in changes to passenger demand on individual routes, potentially impacting vehicle capacity requirements and overall service viability.
These factors may affect the consistency of the services required and the associated contract value. The Council will manage these risks through ongoing contract monitoring, regular communication with operators, and application of agreed contract variation mechanisms to ensure continuity and value for money.
Should the current geo-political instability continue there may be an impact on the viability of supplier commitments.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 17 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 10 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en, cy
Timeline
22 May 2026 → 1 Aug 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published153 days ago22 May 2026, 10:56 BST
- Clarification questions by134 days ago10 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline127 days ago17 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected by99 days ago15 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent95 days ago20 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published94 days ago20 Jul 2026, 15:56 BST
- Standstill ends85 days ago29 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts83 days ago1 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 22 May 2026- Tender notice published22 May 2026, 10:56 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published20 Jul 2026, 15:56 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete20 Jul 2026, 15:56 BST
- Contract signature expected1 Aug 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evans Coaches Tregaron Ltd, G&M Coaches, LEWIS TAXIS CYF, Lewis Rhydlewis, Mid Wales Motorways (1963) LtdSME, Richard BrosSME +1 morejoint awardCeredigion - Learner Transport - Buses 2026 / Ceredigion – Cludiant Dysgwyr – Bysiau 20261 Aug 2026 – 31 Jul 2028 · up to 31 Jul 2030Extensions: Contracts will be for 2 years with a possible extension of up to 2 years or 4 years with a possible extension of up to 2 years. | £3,768,688ten times the procedure’s published value or more · possibly a unit error, check the notice | 20 Jul 2026standstill to 29 Jul 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8final-stage tenders | 8 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
7 commercial parties on the notice- Evans Coaches Tregaron LtdAwarded supplier
- G&M CoachesAwarded supplier
- Lewis RhydlewisAwarded supplier
- Lewis Taxis CyfAwarded supplier
- Lloyds CoachesAwarded supplier
- Mid Wales Motorways LtdAwarded supplier
- Richard BrosAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender