Official UK procurement notice
Network Planning, Bus Optimisation and Timetabling Decision Support Software
Authority: Transport for Greater Manchester (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionAs part of the evolution of the Bee Network under Bus Franchising in Greater Manchester, Transport for Greater Manchester have undertaken a comprehensive review of our requirements for the provision of service and fleet planning functionality across our Network.
Transport for Greater Manchester are looking to award a long-term contract(s) with one or more suppliers across 3 functional areas with potential lotting as per examples below.
- Network Planning
- Service and Vehicle Optimisation
- Timetabling
CPV: Data analysis services · Scheduling software package · Software programming and consultancy services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Transport for Greater Manchester buys Scheduling and productivity software package (CPV 4833), and who usually turns up
Transport for Greater Manchester’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Scheduling and productivity software package (CPV 4833) →
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.
No small-firm winners recorded among this authority’s published awards in this sample.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside North West England.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 77 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.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
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 bid0% / 13%
2–330% / 25%
4–660% / 37%
7+10% / 25%
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 estimate53% / 54%
Within ±2%20% / 23%
Above estimate27% / 23%
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 4833Published estimate£5.0m
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. The bar shows 60 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid13%
2–325%
4–637%
7+25%
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.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
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.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
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.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
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.
- 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- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 17 Jun 2026, 16:07 BST
- Last source update
- 18 Jun 2026, 10:08 BST
- Authority reference
DN818794- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-057412- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06b768Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
17 Jun 2026 → 1 Dec 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published125 days ago17 Jun 2026, 16:07 BST
- Market engagement95 days ago17 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
As part of the evolution of the Bee Network under Bus Franchising in Greater Manchester, Transport for Greater Manchester have undertaken a comprehensive review of our requirements for the provision of fleet planning services across our Network. Transport for Greater Manchester are looking to award a long-term contract(s) with one or more suppliers across 3 functional areas.
- Network Planning
- Service and Vehicle Optimisation
- Timetabling
We intend to engage with the market to understand capacity, capability and appetite for the requirement. To find out more, TfGM is holding a virtual Supplier Day on Monday 29th June 2026.
You can book a place by sending a message on Pro-Contract with your contact details (full name, organisation, email and telephone number) by COB on 24th June 2026 and we will send you a calendar invite (teams link). In order to do this you need to register to Pro-Contract which is free and by using this link: procontract.due-north.com/register ↗
Upon registration, the market engagement information and messaging facility can be found using the following project reference: DN818794
Following this market engagement presentation on the 29th June 2026 we will be sending a questionnaire for suppliers to complete to provide TfGM with an understanding of the current marketplace, which will be found at TfGM's procurement portal, ProContract.
There will be the opportunity for suppliers to ask clarification questions post this session via the messaging facility which is located on ProContract as detailed above. Questions will not be taken on the day.
This notice does not constitute the commencement of a formal competitive procurement.
- Tender notice expected64 days ago17 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today20 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 41 days1 Dec 2026
Notice history
2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 17 Jun 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published17 Jun 2026, 16:07 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published18 Jun 2026, 10:08 BSTUK2
Published amendments (1)
Web link to register to Procontract under engagement was incorrect and has now been amended
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- 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 (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender