Official UK procurement notice
Bus Route 33/X33 · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Milton Keynes Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Council is seeking an Operator for the replacement service Milton Keynes-Northampton 33/X33 Bus Route. The operator is required to comply with the detail as laid put in the service specification .
The contract will be for an initial term of 1 year with an option to extend for a two extensions of 12 month each with the successful tenderer
The Council has not engaged with the market prior to issuing the ITT as it has already developed the most appropriate specification for the works they require to be procured. The market is regulated and the provider must hold a current valid operator license
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Nov 2028, 23:59 GMT.
CPV: Public road transport services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£1,400,000
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).
- Simple description: Quality 50% Price 50% Please refer to Tender documents for full quality and price evaluation on InTend https://in-tendhost.co.uk/milton-keynes/
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
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 1 Nov 2028
- First published
- 2 Feb 2026, 09:46 GMT
- Last source update
- 21 Apr 2026, 13:16 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 26 Mar 2026
- Authority reference
2025-323- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-008766- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0613c7Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
As stated in tender Documents
- Risks
As stated in tender Documents
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 27 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 13 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
2 Feb 2026 → 1 May 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published265 days ago2 Feb 2026, 09:46 GMT
- Clarification questions by253 days ago13 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Submission deadline240 days ago27 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by212 days ago26 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent187 days ago21 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published187 days ago21 Apr 2026, 13:16 BST
- Standstill ends177 days ago30 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts177 days ago1 May 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 2 Feb 2026- Tender notice published2 Feb 2026, 09:46 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published21 Apr 2026, 13:16 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete21 Apr 2026, 13:16 BST
- Contract signature expected15 May 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arriva The Shires Ltd t/a Arriva Midlands1 Jun 2026 – 31 May 2027 · up to 31 May 2029Extensions: 2 x 1 year optional extensions subject to annual confirmation of funding | £1,037,610 | 2 Apr 2026standstill to 30 Apr 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4final-stage tenders | 3 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Arriva The Shires LtdAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications To access tender documents please log into above portal
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender