Official UK procurement notice
Subsidised Bus Tender - T0927 - Service 27
Authority: West Midlands Combined Authority (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) supports the provision of an extensive passenger transport network across the West Midlands, both in fulfilment of statutory duties and to enable access to facilities and services. The WMCA supports the provision of local bus services, by financially subsidising routes that are not provided on a commercial basis by private operators.
A current Subsidised Bus Contracts expiring on 4th January 2026 needs to be re-procured in order to ensure the route contained within the contract remains operational.
Contract T0927 – Service 27 - Rubery, Great Park to Solihull
- No preliminary market engagement: No Market Engagement has been undertaken for the contracts/services being tendered during this round. The decision not to conduct Market Engagement was taken due to potential major changes to the current West Midlands Bus network and the WMCA tendering/commercial model. Market Engagement will form a key part in any future tender opportunities once the landscape is known, this opportunity to engage will be published to the open market via Find a Tender Service (FTS)
CPV: Public road transport services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£4,500,000
- Economic & financial standing
A Financial viability self assessment will be carried out by the supplier, which they will be required to submit as part of their Tender Submisson.
- Technical & professional ability
Please see Part 3 of the 'Qualification' envelope for a full list of our 'Conditions of Participation' for this opportunity. Please note all 'Conditions of Participation' must be passed in order for suppliers tenders to be considered further/evaluated.
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 (1)
- Commercial/Price: 100%
Published award criteria (1)
- Commercial/Price
- Economic & financial standing
A Financial viability self assessment will be carried out by the supplier, which they will be required to submit as part of their Tender Submisson.
- Technical & professional ability
Please see Part 3 of the 'Qualification' envelope for a full list of our 'Conditions of Participation' for this opportunity. Please note all 'Conditions of Participation' must be passed in order for suppliers tenders to be considered further/evaluated.
- Price carries 100 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 10 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
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
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 1 Sept 2025, 12:59 BST
- Last source update
- 8 Dec 2025, 16:53 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 31 Oct 2025
- Authority reference
PRTTFWMWPG20250003- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-052788- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-059146Find a Tender
- Risks
1 Worsening highway conditions
2 Exceptional cost inflation
3 Change to travel demand or travel patterns
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 1 Oct 2025, 17:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 12 Sept 2025, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
1 Sept 2025 → 4 Jan 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published1 Sept 2025, 12:59 BST
- Clarification questions by12 Sept 2025, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline384 days ago1 Oct 2025, 17:00 BST
- Award decision expected by354 days ago31 Oct 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent345 days ago10 Nov 2025
- Standstill ends334 days ago20 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Latest notice published316 days ago8 Dec 2025, 16:53 GMT
- Contract starts290 days ago4 Jan 2026
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 1 Sept 2025- Tender notice published1 Sept 2025, 12:59 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published11 Nov 2025, 11:52 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete11 Nov 2025, 11:52 GMT
- Contract signature expected21 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published8 Dec 2025, 16:53 GMTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond Bus Limited4 Jan 2026 – 30 Oct 2027 · up to 27 Oct 2029Extensions: The contract contains the following provisions to extend the contract; Extension of up to 68 weeks (31st October 2027 to 17th February 2029) and Extension of up to 36 weeks (18th February 2029 to 27th October 29) Extensions will be utilised should the Authority require the service provision beyond the initial term and the service provided by the Operator is satisfactory and in-line with the service specification and contractual 'Key Performance Indicators'. | £3,500,000 | 10 Nov 2025 | Awarded |
Contracts
Subsidised Bus Tender - T0927 - Service 27 · Diamond Bus Limited
- Signed
- 14 Nov 2025
- Value
- £3,500,000
- Period
- 4 Jan 2026 – 30 Oct 2027 · up to 27 Oct 2029 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- The contract contains the following provisions to extend the contract; Extension of up to 68 weeks (31st October 2027 to 17th February 2029) and Extension of up to 36 weeks (18th February 2029 to 27th October 29) Extensions will be utilised should the Authority require the service provision beyond the initial term and the service provided by the Operator is satisfactory and in-line with the service specification and contractual 'Key Performance Indicators'.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3final-stage tenders | 0 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Diamond Bus LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender