Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice

Published 4 Mar 2026, 17:08 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

WMCA July 2026 Subsidised Bus Tenders

Official notice

Authority: West Midlands Combined Authority (Local council)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdUtilitiesSME suitableVCSE suitable

Sectors: Transport Equipment & Vehicles (34)Transport & Passenger Services (60) Delivery: West Midlands (UKG)

Published estimate£2,600,000≈ £3.5m / year · £31,200,000 inc. VAT

Submissions closed 30 Mar 2026awarded 5 Jun 2026

Awarded to Chaserider Buses Limited, West Midlands Travel Limited2 awards

Contract term 9 moends 24 Apr 2027 · up to 23 Oct 2027 with extensions · starts 26 Jul 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The 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.

Current Subsidised Bus Contracts expiring on 25th July 2026 need to be re-procured in order to ensure the routes contained within each contract remain operational. There are three (3) contracts in total that are being tendered.

Please note the value of the procurement published is the total aggregrated value of all three (3) contracts.

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, as there will be future changes to the Bus Network within the West Midlands region and how these are procured/contracted. A Market Engagement Notice in relation to future plans for the network and tendering opportunities will be published to the market during March 2026.

CPV: Public-service buses · Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published

Lot #1AwardedRenewal 9 moSMEVCSEPublished value£2,600,000

Contract period: 26 Jul 2026 – 24 Apr 2027 (9 mo) · up to 23 Oct 2027 with extensionsValue: £2,600,000 exc. VAT · £31,200,000 inc. VAT

Delivery: West MidlandsEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible

Extensions: Based on performance and available funding.

34121100 Public-service buses 60000000 Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2

Economic & financial standing
A Financial viability self assessment will be carried out by the supplier, which they will berequired to submit as part of their Tender Submisson.
This will be assessed in Two (2) stages, it will be ratified by the Authority prior to the evaluation of tenders. It will then be assessed again prior to award, once the total aggregated annual contract value is known for each bidder.
Full documentation and guidance is included within the 'Invitation to Tender' pack
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 win
i
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 more

How bids were scored

Price: 100%

Published sub-criteria (1)

Commercial/Price: 100%

Published award criteria (1)

Commercial/Price

Conditions of participation2

Economic & financial standing
A Financial viability self assessment will be carried out by the supplier, which they will berequired to submit as part of their Tender Submisson.
This will be assessed in Two (2) stages, it will be ratified by the Authority prior to the evaluation of tenders. It will then be assessed again prior to award, once the total aggregated annual contract value is known for each bidder.
Full documentation and guidance is included within the 'Invitation to Tender' pack
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 this means for your bid

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: 4 Mar 2026, 17:08 GMT
Last source update: 29 Oct 2026, 13:10 GMT
Award evaluation window: Submission end – 30 Apr 2026
Authority reference: PRT-ITS-WPG-2025-0016
FTS notice number: 2026/S 000-019694
Latest notice: Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV): Public-service busesTransport services (excl. Waste transport)
Delivery area: West Midlands (UKG)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-066285 Find a Tender

Review and risk notes

Risks

Worsening Highway Conditions
Exceptional Cost Inflation
Change to travel demand or travel patterns

How it was run

Official notice

Run through: Jaggaer · Who buys & how to bid on JAGGAER

Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN

Access & registration note: Free; latest Chrome/Edge/Firefox only — corporate browsers fail

Submission deadline: 30 Mar 2026, 17:00 BST
Clarification deadline: 18 Mar 2026, 17:00 GMT
Submission channel: Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission: Allowed
Accepted languages: en

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

wmca.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.html ↗

Timeline

4 Mar 2026 → 29 Oct 2026 · 7 dates

Tender notice published240 days ago
4 Mar 2026, 17:08 GMT
Clarification questions by226 days ago
18 Mar 2026, 17:00 GMT
Submission deadline214 days ago
30 Mar 2026, 17:00 BST
Award decision expected by182 days ago
30 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
Assessment summaries sent147 days ago
5 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
Contract starts96 days ago
26 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
Latest notice published31h ago
29 Oct 2026, 13:10 GMT

Notice history

5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 4 Mar 2026

Tender notice published
4 Mar 2026, 17:08 GMT
UK4
Contract award notice published
5 Jun 2026, 12:04 BST
UK6
Status changed to complete
5 Jun 2026, 12:04 BST
Contract signature expected
26 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
scheduled
Contract details notice published
29 Oct 2026, 13:10 GMT
UK7

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 2

Awarded value £2,445,5502 awards exc. VAT

Bids received 42 from SMEs

Contracts signed 2latest 26 Jun 2026

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
Chaserider Buses LimitedWMCA July 2026 Subsidised Bus Contracts - T088126 Jul 2026 – 23 Oct 2027	£582,000	5 Jun 2026	Awarded
West Midlands Travel LimitedWMCA July 2026 Subsidised Bus Tenders - T0873/T088726 Jul 2026 – 24 Apr 2027 · up to 23 Oct 2027Extensions: The extension period will be executed based upon satisfactory performance of the contract during the initial term of the contract.	£1,863,550	5 Jun 2026	Awarded

Contracts

WMCA July 2026 Subsidised Bus Contracts - T0881 · Chaserider Buses Limited
Signed
26 Jun 2026
Value
£582,000
Period
26 Jul 2026 – 23 Oct 2027
Status
active
WMCA July 2026 Subsidised Bus Tenders - T0873/T0887 · West Midlands Travel Limited
Signed
26 Jun 2026
Value
£1,863,550
Period
26 Jul 2026 – 24 Apr 2027 · up to 23 Oct 2027 with extensions
Status
active
Extensions
The extension period will be executed based upon satisfactory performance of the contract during the initial term of the contract.

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
4final-stage tenders	2	0	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

West Midlands Combined Authority

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PGMD-1353-PZVX 16 Summer Lane, Birmingham, West Midlands, B19 3SDContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

2 commercial parties on the notice

Chaserider Buses LimitedAwarded supplierGB-COH: 06918592 Mossfield Road, Stoke-on-Trent, West Midlands, ST3 5BWContact email
West Midlands Travel LimitedAwarded supplierGB-COH: 02652253 51 Bordesley Green, Birmingham, West Midlands, B9 4BZContact email

Official documents & specifications (5)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender29 Oct 2026, 13:10 GMT
Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender29 Oct 2026, 13:10 GMT
Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender5 Jun 2026, 12:04 BST
Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender5 Jun 2026, 12:04 BST
Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender4 Mar 2026, 17:08 GMT