Official UK procurement notice
Demand Responsive Bus Service - NEL
Authority: NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE COUNCIL (Local council)
North East Lincolnshire Council are seeking to appoint a new delivery partner for a transformational Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) service within North East Lincolnshire. The DRT service is also known as Phone n Ride.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNorth East Lincolnshire Council are seeking to appoint a new delivery partner for a transformational Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) service within North East Lincolnshire. The DRT service is also known as Phone n Ride.
The aim is to provide an effective DRT service across the North East Lincolnshire area. Whilst the conventional bus network provides extensive coverage throughout the main urban areas of Grimsby and Cleethorpes, there are some journeys which cannot be made, either due to the location of the origin/destination points or at the time at which the individual wishes to travel. The aim of the DRT service is primarily to support accessibility for local residents who for whatever reason do not have appropriate access to conventional bus services.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 30 Mar 2028, 23:59 BST.
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 #1RenewalPublished value£2,100,000
- Economic & financial standing
Economic and Financial Standing Information - tenderers to ensure that they have up-to-date economic and financial standing information available on the Find a Tender Service.
Insurance - Employer's (Compulsory) Liability Insurance = £10m
Public Liability Insurance = £5m, relevant motor vehicle insurance.
General Data Protection Regulations - tenderers demonstrate that they have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure and demonstrate that the processing of personal data and sensitive personal data is performed in accordance with the GDPR.
Further details about the conditions of participation and the award criteria can be found in the associated tender documents - it put it on tenderers to check the tender documentation any other requirements that form part of the Conditions of Participation.
- Technical & professional ability
PSV "O" license for vehicles with up to eight service user's seats to enable vehicles to be used for bus services.
PSV "O" license for vehicles with a capacity between 9-16 seats.
Further details about the conditions of participation and the award criteria can be found in the associated tender documents - it put it on tenderers to check the tender documentation any other requirements that form part of the Conditions of Participation.
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 (8)
- Criterion 1 - Service Implementation Plan: 8%
- Criterion 2 Part A - Vehicle Requirements: 7%
- Criterion 2 Part B - Driver Requirements: 5%
- Criterion 3 - Business Continuity and Service Resilience: 4%
- Criterion 4 - Customer Service: 3.5%
- Criterion 5 - Out of Office Cover: 2.5%
- Cost: 60%
- Criterion 6 - Social Value and Carbon Reduction: 10%
Published award criteria (8)
- Criterion 1 - Service Implementation Plan: Tenderers must score a minimum raw score of 3. Failure to do so will deem your tender non-compliant.
- Criterion 2 Part A - Vehicle Requirements
- Criterion 2 Part B - Driver Requirements
- Criterion 3 - Business Continuity and Service Resilience: Tenderers must score a minimum raw score of 3. Failure to do so will deem your tender non-compliant.
- Criterion 4 - Customer Service
- Criterion 5 - Out of Office Cover
- Criterion 6 - Social Value and Carbon Reduction
- Cost
- Economic & financial standing
Economic and Financial Standing Information - tenderers to ensure that they have up-to-date economic and financial standing information available on the Find a Tender Service.
Insurance - Employer's (Compulsory) Liability Insurance = £10m
Public Liability Insurance = £5m, relevant motor vehicle insurance.
General Data Protection Regulations - tenderers demonstrate that they have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure and demonstrate that the processing of personal data and sensitive personal data is performed in accordance with the GDPR.
Further details about the conditions of participation and the award criteria can be found in the associated tender documents - it put it on tenderers to check the tender documentation any other requirements that form part of the Conditions of Participation.
- Technical & professional ability
PSV "O" license for vehicles with up to eight service user's seats to enable vehicles to be used for bus services.
PSV "O" license for vehicles with a capacity between 9-16 seats.
Further details about the conditions of participation and the award criteria can be found in the associated tender documents - it put it on tenderers to check the tender documentation any other requirements that form part of the Conditions of Participation.
- Price carries 60 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 6 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £2,097,127 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE COUNCIL buys Public road transport services (CPV 6011), and who usually turns up
NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE COUNCIL’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Public road transport services (CPV 6011) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in Yorkshire and the Humber.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 67 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid15% / 0%
2–325% / 18%
4–635% / 55%
7+25% / 27%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate55% / 36%
Within ±2%36% / 34%
Above estimate9% / 29%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 60Published estimate£2.1m
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 60. The comparison uses that group.
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid39%
2–341%
4–618%
7+2%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
Based on 4 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£1.8m–£2.1m
Estimate£2.1m
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stagecoach East MidlandsWorked for this buyer | Phone and Ride Demand Responsive Transportnotice published Oct 2022 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £4.1m13 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 6 live · £49m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | no comparable pairs | |
Liftango LtdSME | £322k2 awards in 36m · last 5 months ago | 1 live · £56k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 17% below n=1 |
| £4.2m17 awards in 36m · last 7 months ago | None on file | 48% below n=1 | |
| £457k1 award in 36m · last 9 months ago | None on file | at estimate n=1 | |
| £5.4m1 award in 36m · last 20 months ago | None on file | no comparable pairs |
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly. Contracts Finder contracts appear on the Retender Radar, not yet in these figures.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
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
- Open for tender
- 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 30 Mar 2028
- First published
- 3 Nov 2026, 17:40 GMT
- Last source update
- 3 Nov 2026, 17:40 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 18 Jan 2027
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-104436- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-079717Find a Tender
- Risks
In December 2024 the Government issued a White Paper on Local Government Re-Organisation entitled the "English Devolution White Paper".
In March 2025 Greater Lincolnshire submitted their suggested re-organisation plan to the Government and are awaiting a response.
Final proposals will be submitted in November 2025 and implementation of the changes is expected by Government to be by 2028 at the earliest.
Whilst the expected impact of most changes to Local Government will be settled at Government Level (Change in Law) please be aware that it may be government policy or expedient that any affected party will be recommended to agree bi-lateral or multi-lateral changes to their existing contractual arrangements.
There is a possibility that due to local government reorganisation this contract will need to be novated to another public body carrying out the same functions as the Authority.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via portal- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 3 Dec 2026, 13:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 27 Nov 2026, 16:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
yortender.eusupply.com/login.asp ↗
Click on the link, then click on current tender opportunities, then search using the reference number.
Timeline
3 Nov 2026 → 30 Mar 2027 · 5 dates- Tender notice published8h ago3 Nov 2026, 17:40 GMT
- Today4 Nov 2026
- Clarification questions byin 23 days27 Nov 2026, 16:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 29 days3 Dec 2026, 13:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 75 days18 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 145 days30 Mar 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published3 Nov 2026, 17:40 GMTUK4
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Technical specifications The technical specification is available via YORtender
- Bidding documents and specifications The technical specification is available via YORtender
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender