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Published 2 Oct 2026, 17:05 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Bus Service — UK public procurement notice

Authority: Bournemouth University (Education)·Consortium: 2 public authorities

Services
Sectors: Transport Equipment & Vehicles (34)Transport & Passenger Services (60)Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services (63) Delivery: South West (UKK)
Budget not disclosedValue not published
Tender notice expected 16 Nov 2026from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 3 yrsup to 5 yrs with extensions · starts 1 Aug 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Bournemouth University (BU), in partnership with Arts University Bournemouth (AUB), requires a University Bus Service which enables students and passengers to travel to the university, from core destinations around the South-East Dorset conurbation.

CPV: Buses and coaches · Hire of buses and coaches with driver · Public road transport services · Travel services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Lot 1PlannedRenewal 3 yrs
Contract period: 1 Aug 2027 — 31 Jul 2030 (3 yrs) · up to 5 yrs with extensionsDelivery: South West
Extensions
Extension options published
34121000 Buses and coaches60112000 Public road transport services60172000 Hire of buses and coaches with driver63515000 Travel services

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
2 Oct 2026, 17:05 BST
Last source update
2 Oct 2026, 17:05 BST
Authority reference
EST/OS/501
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Buses and coachesHire of buses and coaches with driverPublic road transport servicesTravel services
Delivery area
South West (UKK)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07802b

How it was run

Submission deadline
—

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Planning notice publishedjust passed
    2 Oct 2026, 17:05 BST
  2. Market engagementin 14 days
    16 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
    The purpose of this PME is to gather industry expertise and feedback that will inform the development of our final project and procurement requirements. Objectives: • Developing the University’s requirements and approach to the procurement; • Designing a procedure, conditions of participation or more…award criteria; • Preparing the tender notice and associated tender documents; • Identifying suppliers that may be able to supply the goods, services or works required; • Identifying likely contractual terms; • Building capacity among suppliers in relation to the contract being awarded. Suppliers interested in participating in this PME process are required to express their interest by email to [email protected] with the subject heading “EST/OS/501 – Bus Service PME”. Once suppliers have expressed their interest we will provide further information on the requirements with a Questionnaire for your completion. BU are intending on holding one-to-one discussions/meetings with interested suppliers on the week commencing 02 November 2026. Suppliers will be shortlisted for meetings based on the answers provided in the Questionnaires. Please note that while we aim to engage with a broad range of suppliers, it may not be possible to invite all interested parties to a meeting. Participation in this exercise is voluntary, and there is no obligation for BU to meet with every supplier who expresses an interest and submits a completed Questionnaire. This PME is not a request for quotation. BU’s current intention is to conduct an openly advertised tender process at a later stage. There is no obligation for suppliers to respond to this PME. Supplier responses (or lack thereof) to this exercise will not be used to determine which suppliers will be carried forward to tender process or in any subsequent evaluation of supplier proposals. The University's current intention is that any future procurement opportunity arising from this requirement will be advertised separately at a later date.
  3. Tender notice expectedin 45 days
    16 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
  4. Contract startsin 302 days
    1 Aug 2027, 00:00 BST

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    2 Oct 2026, 17:05 BSTUK2

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

2 public bodies on the notice

Bournemouth University

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PVRY-5141-LLTP Poole House, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, South West, BH12 5BB [email protected]

Consortium members and other public bodies

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure