Scope
Reference
PRT-ITS-WPG-2025-0012
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. The WMCA supports the provision of local bus services, by financially subsidising routes that are not provided on a commercial basis by private operators.
Current Subsidised Bus Contracts expiring on 18th July 2026 need to be re-procured in order to ensure the routes contained within each contract remain operational. There are two (2) Lots of contracts, with an aggregated estimated total spend value (including extensions) of circa £21,650,000.
The aim of this procurement exercise is to renew existing tendered bus services within the Coventry/Solihull region, whilst aligning with the Coventry Electric Bus City scheme which requires a fully electric fleet (in this case within 12 months of the contract start date.)
This contract will overlap with Tranche 1 of franchised bus services operational in Coventry. The contract includes a change control mechanism to allow for changes to the services to align with the service model which will be delivered under franchising (yet to be determined). This could include vehicle livery, data provision, fares and ticketing initiatives etc. The end date of the contract, with the extensions, will enable the service to be included in the franchised network at the first renewal point of the Coventry lots. A shorter contract would not be commercially viable for the operator therefore a 5-year initial term, and up to a 5-year extension, has been agreed upon to offer best value for money and to ensure operators get return from the significant required investment in electric vehicles.
WMCA intends to carry out a subsequent procurement of similar goods, services or works in reliance on the direct award justification in paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to the PA 2023, which is expected to be needed after the expiry of the contract.
The X30 service is expected to be a potential subsequent procurement and will be undertaken once funding arrangements have been agreed.
The X30 (Coventry Railway Station to Ansty Park) falls within the scope of Lot 1, therefore award of the X30 contract will only be permissible to the winning bidder of Lot 1 and will be awarded via a Direct Award process if undertaken.
The Procurement Act 2023 stipulates that this is compliant under the following clause:
"The public contract concerns the supply of goods, services or works by the existing supplier that are similar to existing goods, services or works where-
(a)the existing goods, services or works were supplied under a public contract that was awarded in accordance with a competitive tendering procedure within the period of five years ending with the day on which the transparency notice is published, and
(b)the tender notice or any tender document in respect of that earlier contract set out-
(i)the contracting authority's intention to carry out a subsequent procurement of similar goods, services or works in reliance on this direct award justification, and
(ii)any other information specified in regulations under section 95."
Total value (estimated)
- £25,980,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 19 July 2026 to 18 July 2031
- Possible extension to 18 July 2036
- 10 years
Description of possible extension:
Optional extensions for up to 5 years, in any increment, to a final possible expiry date of 18th July 2036, at the sole discretion of the Authority.
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 60000000 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
- 34121100 - Public-service buses
Contract locations
- UKG - West Midlands (England)
Lot 1. T0945
Description
Service 51 (Coventry Pool Meadow to University Hospital)
Service 60, 703 (Arena Park to University of Warwick)
(Option) Service X30 (Coventry Railway Station to Ansty Park) (will be subject to a subsequent procurement of similar goods, services or works in reliance on the direct award justification in paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to the PA 2023)
Lot value (estimated)
- £17,679,168 including VAT
Same for all lots
CPV classifications, contract locations and contract dates are shown in the Scope section, because they are the same for all lots.
Lot 2. T0946
Description
Service 82 (Coventry to Solihull, via Meriden)
Service 87, 188 (Coventry to Solihull, via Balsall Common)
Lot value (estimated)
- £8,300,832 including VAT
Same for all lots
CPV classifications, contract locations and contract dates are shown in the Scope section, because they are the same for all lots.
Participation
Legal and financial capacity conditions of participation
Lot 1. T0945
Lot 2. T0946
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.
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 ability conditions of participation
Lot 1. T0945
Lot 2. T0946
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.
Tenderers will also be required to respond to 7 Technical Questions found at Annex C of ITT Part B. The minimum pass threshold for technical evaluation is a minimum score of 4 on every question and a Total Technical Score of at least 50 out of a possible maximum of 70.
Particular suitability
Lot 1. T0945
Lot 2. T0946
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
- Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE)
Submission
Enquiry deadline
3 October 2025, 5:00pm
Tender submission deadline
17 October 2025, 12:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
28 November 2025
Award criteria
| Name | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial/Price | Price | 100% |
Other information
Description of risks to contract performance
The below risk(s) have been identified but, the likelihood of the risk materialising, or the impact if it did materialise, are not yet quantifiable. Should one or more of the below risks materialise, a subsequent modification to the public contract under paragraph 5 of Schedule 8 to the PA2023 (modification of contract following materialisation of a known risk) may be undertaken.
1) Worsening highway conditions
2) Exceptional cost inflation
3) Change to travel demand or travel patterns
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Open procedure
Special regime
Utilities
Justification for not publishing a preliminary market engagement notice
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).
Contracting authority
West Midlands Combined Authority
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PGMD-1353-PZVX
16 Summer Lane
Birmingham
B19 3SD
United Kingdom
Email: procurement.team@wmca.org.uk
Website: http://www.WMCA.org.uk
Region: UKG31 - Birmingham
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government