Official UK procurement notice
SS15 96 DPS - Supported Local Bus (including Kent Karrier) and Home to School Transport Services
Authority: Kent County Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionKent County Council (the Council) is the largest county council in England covering an area of 3,500 square kilometres. It has an annual expenditure of over £1.6bn on goods and services and a population of 1.8m. The Council provides a wide range of personal and strategic services on behalf of its residents, operating in partnership with 12 district councils and over 300 parish/town councils.
This requirement is from the Growth, Environment and Transport Directorate is for the provision of services operated using PSV or Community (Section 19 or 22) Bus Permits.
The requirements relate to the Council's activity in respect of Supported Local Bus (including Kent Karrier) and Home to School Transport Services. Supported Bus services are procured for the delivery of socially necessary bus services (including Kent Karrier), where the authority will fund the provision of a local bus service which is not commercially viable, which would therefore not otherwise run but which the authority has identified as meeting a social need i.e. rural connectivity. Home to School Transport services are procured to provide school transport for those pupils who are determined by our Education and Young People's Directorate as eligible for free home to school transport. Where the volume of pupils is sufficient to justify a larger vehicle (minibus, coach or bus) these will require provision of this transport by a Public Service Vehicle Licensed Operator who can run services either as a public bus service or as a privately hired vehicle.
Further details of the full scope and specific requirements will be provided within the tender documentation issued under this DPS.
Further background and technical information can be found within the tender documentation.
This Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) was established in 2016, with a start date of 01 January 2017. Due to the lack of viable alternatives provided by the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23) and in line with the transition arrangements, the Council is extending the 'Supported Local Bus and Home to School Transport Services' DPS period of validity - in accordance with Regulation 28(1)(a) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 - from 31 December 2027 to 23 February 2029, to ensure continuity of service. All other terms and conditions of the DPS remain unchanged.
This Dynamic Purchasing System has a total value of £100 million, covering the period from its establishment in 2017 through to the end of its period of validity.
CPV: Road transport services · Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
How this dynamic market works
From the published notice- Type
- Dynamic market
- Market period
- 3 yrs 2 mo from 17 Dec 2025
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1The Council established this DPS to tender a variety of transport requirements as…Published value£100,000,000
The Council established this DPS to tender a variety of transport requirements as detailed in section II.I.4.
This notice confirms the extension of the "Supported Local Bus (including Kent Karrier) and Home to School Transport Services" Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) period of validity, as referenced in section II.I.4.
The DPS will remain open until 23 February 2029, in accordance with Regulation 34 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Suppliers may apply at any time during this period, provided they meet and continue to meet the Council’s minimum standards as defined in the documents. Successful applicants will have equal standing with existing DPS members, and unsuccessful applicants may reapply at any time. Minimum time limits for tenders under the DPS will be specified in each individual Invitation to Tender (ITT).
Suppliers can access the ‘SS15 96 DPS - Supported Local Bus (including Kent Karrier) and Home to School Transport Services Dynamic Purchasing System’ by visiting the link mentioned above or the www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk ↗ Additional information: To respond to this opportunity please click here: www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/respond/H36G4TQK44 ↗
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).
- “SS15 96 DPS - Supported Local Bus (including Kent Karrier) and Home to…” is a dynamic market: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Kent County Council buys Road transport services (CPV 6010), and who usually turns up
Kent County Council’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Road transport services (CPV 6010) →
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.
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 in South East 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 58 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 bid2% / 0%
2–314% / 27%
4–621% / 8%
7+63% / 65%
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.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.
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 #1The Council established this DPS to tender a variety of transport requirements as…CPV 6010Published estimate£100m
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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 bid0%
2–311%
4–619%
7+70%
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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £186k153 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 11 live · £633k 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. | 34% below n=15 | |
| 1 awards in 36m · last 20 months ago | None on file | no comparable pairs | |
| 1 awards in 36m · last 28 months ago | 1 live · £2.0m 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 | |
| 1 awards in 36m · last 23 months ago | None on file | no comparable pairs | |
| 1 awards in 36m · last 26 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.
- 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 · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Restricted procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open admission
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Dynamic market
- Who may use this agreement
- Any qualifying supplier may apply while the market is open
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 18 Dec 2025, 10:05 GMT
- Last source update
- 18 Dec 2025, 10:05 GMT
- Authority reference
SS15 96- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-084180- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05f8a5Find a Tender
Publisher note: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.The contracting authority considers this contract suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, the selection of tenderers will be based exclusively on the criteria specified in the tender documentation. Futher information can be found at www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk or by following the below links. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Maidstone:-Road-transport-services./H36G4TQK44 To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/H36G4TQK44 GO Reference: GO-20251218-PRO-33813175
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Apply via ProContract (Due North)- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Admission period ends
- 22 Feb 2029
- Clarification deadline
- —
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission","written"}
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
17 Dec 2025 → 22 Feb 2029 · 3 dates- Contract starts310 days ago17 Dec 2025
- Notice published308 days ago18 Dec 2025, 10:05 GMT
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Admission / appointment period endsperiod end, not a bid countdown22 Feb 2029
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
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice; the tender pack is on the portal.