Transport Contracts and Tenders

Search live portals such as Contracts Finder, Find a Tender and Public Contracts Scotland, or track them in one place on Stotles. Most transport tenders published today are home-to-school and adult social care transport contracts run through council dynamic purchasing systems, alongside local bus service contracts retendered by combined authorities and route operators. Set up alerts on the buyers you want to work with so a new mini-competition does not slip past you.

Transport tenders cover passenger transport, including home-to-school and SEND routes, local bus services, taxi and passenger vehicle hire, and planning or technical work commissioned by the Department for Transport and Transport Scotland. It does not include NHS patient transport or non-emergency ambulance work, which runs through separate NHS procurement routes with its own specification and vehicle standards.

Read the specification closely. Seating capacity, wheelchair access, passenger assistants and route timing are scored heavily on passenger transport contracts, often more than price. Most councils run these as mini-competitions under a dynamic purchasing system, so register early and respond fast once a route is advertised. For larger bus network contracts, expect a longer process with route mapping, timetabling and a subsidy or minimum revenue guarantee built into the bid.

The main codes cover transport services generally, hire of passenger transport vehicles with driver, taxi services, and public road transport services specifically. Buyers mix and match these depending on whether the contract covers a scheduled bus route, a taxi-based passenger transport DPS, or a wider transport services agreement.

Yes. Transport Scotland runs its own major infrastructure and passenger transport contracts alongside Scottish councils publishing through Public Contracts Scotland, and Irish transport tenders are published through eTenders and cover bodies such as Bus Eireann and the National Transport Authority. Stotles tracks all three alongside England and Wales notices, so you can search UK and Ireland transport tenders from one page.

Transport tenders are added at a similar pace throughout the year. Most transport opportunities are short-notice mini-competitions for individual routes rather than long tender windows, so the number of live listings shifts week to week. Check back often or set up an alert so a new listing does not slip past you.