West Midlands Combined Authority
November 2026 Subsidised Bus Tenders
The procurement contact named on the official notice.
The submission route named on the official notice.
This is a large award for Transport Services — above three-quarters of comparable contracts. Based on 20,160 valued Transport Services tenders in our corpus.
West Midlands Combined Authority publishes Transport Services work continuously — 41 notices, roughly one every 33 days. This is a stream to watch, not a cycle to wait for.
52% of West Midlands Combined Authority’s awards go to a supplier it has used before.
Which is the argument for getting on the list rather than winning this one. The incumbent is rarely the last winner — it is the roster. See the retention odds by category →
Provision of sixteen (16) subsidised local bus service contracts across the West Midlands to ensure continuity of socially necessary passenger transport services from 1 November 2026.
The procurement is being conducted through an Open Procedure under the Procurement Act 2023 and suppliers may bid for one or more contracts.
What the notice asks for
Provision of sixteen (16) subsidised local bus
Provision of sixteen (16) subsidised local bus service contracts across the West Midlands to ensure continuity of socially necessary passenger transport services from 1 November 2026.
Sentences from the notice that state an obligation, surfaced automatically and shown in the order they appear. Not an exhaustive list — always confirm against the tender documents.
What it takes to bid this
Typical UK bid effort for the £1m–£10m band — an estimate, not a quote.
Qualify & bid/no-bid ~10% · SQ / PQQ ~20% · Written response ~55% · Review & presentation ~15%
Typical for this category — confirm against the ITT pack
- Hold at bidOperator licences / driver vetting (DBS for passenger transport)
- Plan for deliveryTUPE (incumbent staff often transfer)
- Show at bidComparable references / case studies
- Hold at bidFinancial standing (accounts, often ~2× contract value turnover)
- Hold at bidInsurance cover (PL / EL, often PI)
- Show at bidSocial value commitments
Hold at bid = pass/fail conditions of participation. Show at bid = scored in the quality response. Plan for delivery = contract obligations from day one.
Make the case to bid
Reveal who to approach at West Midlands Combined Authority, and generate a go-to-market strategy from their news, accounts and people.
Free to start. Named contacts come from published notices; the strategy is generated from the buyer’s news, accounts and people.
The full intelligence dossier
Our agent reads West Midlands Combined Authority’s accounts, hunts live signals, finds the people who decide — and hands you a bid strategy plus a go-to-market influence plan, including what your team should post this week. You approve every paid step.
Five included while we’re in beta, and the agent asks before it spends on any paid step.
- OCID
- ocds-h6vhtk-06d94b
- Stage
- tender · Open
- Source
- Find a Tender
- Buyer ref
- 072910-2026
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source data © Crown copyright.
Who wins this kind of work
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West Midlands Combined Authority’s tender network
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