Official UK procurement notice
Supply of Single Deck Coaches
Authority: Translink (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionTranslink are intending to establish a Single Supplier Framework, duration to be confirmed, aimed at delivering a cost effective and agile means to procure modern, safe, efficient, high-quality,
wheelchair accessible, single deck coaches, used for Goldline inter-urban and cross-border operations throughout Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.
Once established the framework does not guarantee any orders from Translink, as any potential order is subject to funding.
There are a number of key principles underpinning the characteristics of Translink's Goldline Coach services:
- a strong brand image that delivers a clear identity for the service
- high quality in all aspects of the overall service, including the fixed infrastructure, vehicles,
operations and customer services
- high standards of reliability with punctual service operation and predictable journey times
- integration with other modes of sustainable transport
- high quality environment for passengers in terms of space, safety, accessibility, security and on-board
Information
To that end Translink wishes to invite suitably interested Suppliers to present
their current and future capability and capacity in these areas in Belfast in June 2026.
The objectives of this exercise are to:
- understand the views from the Suppliers that will or may be interested in this
procurement opportunity,
- understand the Suppliers technology roadmap for the transition to Zero Emission single deck coaches,
- understand the Suppliers best practice in terms of general accessibility and in particular wheelchair accessibility on single deck coaches
- understand the capabilities of Suppliers to meet Translink's requirements, and
- provide interested Suppliers with an opportunity to inform the tender structure
and the duration of any awarded Framework Agreement
Translink reserve the right to request further information from respondents in order to short
list interested Suppliers
Interested Suppliers should reply in writing to David Lowry at
[email protected] by 3pm on Thursday 07 May 2026.
CPV: Coaches
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 3 yrs · up to 8 yrs from 1 Sept 2027
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
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).
- “Supply of Single Deck Coaches” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Translink buys Motor vehicles for the transport of 10 or more persons (CPV 3412), and who usually turns up
Translink’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: Motor vehicles for the transport of 10 or more persons (CPV 3412) →
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 registered in Northern Ireland.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in Northern Ireland.
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 157 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.
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 bid6% / 0%
2–329% / 14%
4–624% / 14%
7+41% / 71%
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 #1CPV 3412Estimate not published
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 61 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid57%
2–325%
4–68%
7+10%
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volvo Group UK Limited T/A Renault Trucks UKEarlier contract | P-2785 Supply of Double Deck Coachesnotice published Dec 2025 | — | — | Matched as the earlier contract |
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.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
59% title match.
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.
59% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (59% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
P-2785 Supply of Double Deck Coaches — held by Volvo Group UK Limited T/A Renault Trucks UK; no contract end date published.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 20 Apr 2026, 10:40 BST
- Last source update
- 20 Apr 2026, 10:40 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-035494- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0685fbFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
20 Apr 2026 → 1 Sept 2027 · 4 dates- Planning notice published184 days ago20 Apr 2026, 10:40 BST
- Market engagement166 days ago7 May 2026, 23:59 BST
Translink wishes to invite suitably interested Suppliers to present
their current and future capability and capacity in these areas in Belfast in June 2026.
Translink reserve the right to request further information from respondents in order to short
list interested Suppliers
Interested Suppliers should reply in writing to David Lowry at
[email protected] by 3pm on Thursday 07 May 2026.
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Tender notice expectedin 104 days1 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 315 days1 Sept 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published20 Apr 2026, 10:40 BSTUK2
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 (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender