Bus Scheduling and Depot Allocation System

Translink are looking to engage with suppliers capable of providing a scheduling and depot allocation system to support bus operations on Ulsterbus and Metro Fleet. The system would be expected to allow Translink operations to efficiently create route diagrams, timetables and duty allocation for the full network in Northern Ireland, and some cross-border services.

Translink require the system to interface with wider bus systems, including the control room interface, therefore, a cloud-based, open data architecture is necessary, to ensure that the bus systems can integrate with other client systems, enhancing data flow and ensuring regular operations continue without interruption. The supplier will be required to maintain and support upgrades to the system to ensure Translink are able to take advantage of market developments.

Before embarking on a tender process, Translink wishes to engage with the marketplace to gather information which will be used to inform the sourcing strategy for this contract and thus, the procurement process. We are therefore looking to engage with providers that are experienced in scheduling and depot allocation systems, which believe they are capable of fulfilling all requirements below.

It is anticipated that this contract will commence in Q1 2027.

Our requirements include, but are not limited to the following:

• Facilitate bus route development.

• Facilitate Timetable and staff rota development.

• Provide reporting on bus mileage to allow Translink to reconcile fleet mileage.

• Provide a method of storing and managing fleet details.

• Support integration with a wide variety of third-party bus systems that are already in place.

• Facilitate a bus stop asset database which contains information including, the NaPTAN location code, stop name, locality, and facilities (shelter/pole).

• Allow for daily variation outside of the regular timetables and schedules during peak periods.

• Flag errors or notifications between the scheduling system and wider bus systems.

• Allow for the fleets (Ulsterbus and Metro) to be managed independently of each other, to facilitate their specific requirements.

• Support data exports and imports in recognised formats such as TransXChange and CIF files.

• Verify that all rotas are compliant with EU regulations relating to driver rest and compensation during allocated duties.

• Verify that all duties are accounted for in the driver rotas.

• Allow for operational changes, such as driver pay allocations to be manually updated by schedulers.

• Include a dedicated analytics package that supports manual and automated performance and management reporting.

• Support integration with current, and future bus systems.

To advance to the next stage, suppliers must also be able to demonstrate that they have supplied a similar solution to customers with a similar fleet size (c. 1400 vehicles) within the last 3 years.