The West Midlands Franchising Scheme for Buses Dynamic Market

Buyer
West Midlands Combined Authority
Value
£1,500,000,000
Closes
29 June 2039
Where
Birmingham, the West Midlands
Type
Dynamic purchasing system (open to join)

In plain English

The West Midlands Combined Authority is setting up a Dynamic Market to buy bus franchising services. They will run competitive tenders across three tranches (starting August 2026) for operators to run bus routes, provide drivers and staff, maintain vehicles and depots, and integrate with their systems. The total contract value is up to £1.56 billion over 13 years.

What the buyer wants

• Operate franchised bus services according to timetables and operational specifications set by the WMCA • Provide trained drivers and operational staff to run services • Maintain and clean vehicles and depots (using WMCA-provided assets including zero emission buses) • Integrate with WMCA network management, traffic control, IT, ticketing and performance systems • Meet performance targets and comply with contract management requirements

Likely requirements

Our reading of the notice. Always check the tender documents.

This is only suitable for established bus operators or large transport companies with significant experience, financial backing and existing capability to run commercial bus services at scale. Solo tradespeople, small cleaning or maintenance contractors will be outcompeted unless they form consortiums with experienced operators. The WMCA will provide depots and fleet, so you cannot bid as a sole contractor for maintenance or cleaning alone.

How to bid

This is a Dynamic Purchasing System: an open list of approved suppliers. You can apply to join at any time while it runs, and once accepted you can bid for the individual contracts the buyer runs through it.

How dynamic purchasing systems work

More open tenders from West Midlands Combined Authority

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