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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Bus Franchising in the Liverpool City Region Tranche 1 Category 1 - St Helens

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority · award, contract

Tender information last checkedLast checked 4 Oct 2026, 20:46.

Opportunity overview

On 25 April 2023, LCRCA published an Assessment on Bus Franchising in the Liverpool City Region which sets out the proposed bus Franchising Scheme in accordance with the Transport Act. In October 2023, the Liverpool City Region Mayor made a Franchising Scheme covering the Liverpool City Region. Franchising is to be introduced over a number of tranches of procurement. Franchised contracts will be let in two categories: i. Category 1 franchises, which are those Franchise Agreements involving multiple services that will operate from a depot provided by LCRCA. LCRCA will provide the depot from which the services relating to the Category 1 franchise must be operated. LCRCA will predominately provide the fleet that must be used on the Category 1 franchise. ii. Category 2 franchises, which are those Franchise Agreements which either i) provide services to serve schools or ii) provide other local services. In both cases the franchises will be delivered from an operator's own depot. This notice relates to the Category 1 franchise for St Helens. Key elements of Category 1 franchises include: Delivery of requirement: the operator of the franchise will be required to provide bus services in accordance with the detailed franchise package specifications. Revenue risk: the operator will not be required to assume revenue risk. Revenue risk will be primarily taken by LCRCA. Depots: LCRCA will provide the depots from which the Category 1 franchises will be operated. Buses: LCRCA will primarily be responsible for providing the vehicles which will operate Category 1 contacts. Repair, maintenance and servicing of buses: the operator will be responsible for the repair, maintenance and servicing of vehicles whilst ensuring that there are in a roadworthy condition. Staff: the operator is responsible for ensuring that it has all necessary and suitably trained staff to deliver the requirement detailed in the individual franchise specifications.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

Contract value
£207.1m
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
21 Jan 2026
Award ID
014464-2026-1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH 03990677
Location
Stockport, UKD7, SK1 3SW, United Kingdom

Classification

  • CPV60112000 — Public road transport services
  • CPV60000000 — Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

Lots

  • On 25 April 2023, LCRCA published an Assessment on Bus Franchising in the Liverpool City Region which sets out the proposed bus Franchising Scheme in accordance with the Transport Act. In October 2023, the Liverpool City Region Mayor made a Franchising Scheme covering the Liverpool City Region. Franchising is to be introduced over a number of tranches of procurement. Franchised contracts will be let in two categories: i. Category 1 franchises, which are those Franchise Agreements involving multiple services that will operate from a depot provided by LCRCA. LCRCA will provide the depot from which the services relating to the Category 1 franchise must be operated. LCRCA will predominately provide the fleet that must be used on the Category 1 franchise. ii. Category 2 franchises, which are those Franchise Agreements which either i) provide services to serve schools or ii) provide other local services. In both cases the franchises will be delivered from an operator's own depot. This notice relates to the Category 1 franchise for St Helens. Key elements of Category 1 franchises include: Delivery of requirement: the operator of the franchise will be required to provide bus services in accordance with the detailed franchise package specifications. Revenue risk: the operator will not be required to assume revenue risk. Revenue risk will be primarily taken by LCRCA. Depots: LCRCA will provide the depots from which the Category 1 franchises will be operated. Buses: LCRCA will primarily be responsible for providing the vehicles which will operate Category 1 contacts. Repair, maintenance and servicing of buses: the operator will be responsible for the repair, maintenance and servicing of vehicles whilst ensuring that there are in a roadworthy condition. Staff: the operator is responsible for ensuring that it has all necessary and suitably trained staff to deliver the requirement detailed in the individual franchise specifications.Value not stated

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
DN772032
Status
complete
Main Procurement Category
services
Procurement Method
selective
Procurement Method Details
Negotiated procedure with prior call for competition

Legal basis

Id
32014L0025
Scheme
CELEX

Classification

Scheme
CPV
Id
60112000
Description
Public road transport services

Covered By

GPA

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Description
On 25 April 2023, LCRCA published an Assessment on Bus Franchising in the Liverpool City Region which sets out the proposed bus Franchising Scheme in accordance with the Transport Act. In October 2023, the Liverpool City Region Mayor made a Franchising Scheme covering the Liverpool City Region. Franchising is to be introduced over a number of tranches of procurement. Franchised contracts will be let in two categories: i. Category 1 franchises, which are those Franchise Agreements involving multiple services that will operate from a depot provided by LCRCA. LCRCA will provide the depot from which the services relating to the Category 1 franchise must be operated. LCRCA will predominately provide the fleet that must be used on the Category 1 franchise. ii. Category 2 franchises, which are those Franchise Agreements which either i) provide services to serve schools or ii) provide other local services. In both cases the franchises will be delivered from an operator's own depot. This notice relates to the Category 1 franchise for St Helens. Key elements of Category 1 franchises include: Delivery of requirement: the operator of the franchise will be required to provide bus services in accordance with the detailed franchise package specifications. Revenue risk: the operator will not be required to assume revenue risk. Revenue risk will be primarily taken by LCRCA. Depots: LCRCA will provide the depots from which the Category 1 franchises will be operated. Buses: LCRCA will primarily be responsible for providing the vehicles which will operate Category 1 contacts. Repair, maintenance and servicing of buses: the operator will be responsible for the repair, maintenance and servicing of vehicles whilst ensuring that there are in a roadworthy condition. Staff: the operator is responsible for ensuring that it has all necessary and suitably trained staff to deliver the requirement detailed in the individual franchise specifications.
Has Options
Yes
Status
cancelled

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Quality
Type
quality
Description
60
Criterion 2
Type
price
Description
40

Options

Description
Category 1 franchises include options for a) the initial term to be extended for up to two (2) additional years and b) additional services to be introduced as set out in the Franchise Agreements as priced options

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
60000000
Description
Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKD7

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Id
GB-FTS-164205

Identifier

Legal Name
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
No Identifier Rationale
notOnAnyRegister

Address

Street Address
1 Mann Island
Locality
Liverpool
Region
UKD72
Postal Code
L31BP
Country Name
United Kingdom

Contact

Name
Procurement Team

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
TED_CE_ACTIVITY
Description
Public Transport
Organisation 2
Name
Ribble Motor Services Limited
Id
GB-COH-03990677

Identifier

Legal Name
Ribble Motor Services Limited
Id
03990677
Scheme
GB-COH

Address

Street Address
One Stockport Exchange, 20 Railway Road
Locality
Stockport
Region
UKD7
Postal Code
SK1 3SW
Country Name
United Kingdom

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale
large
Organisation 3
Name
Royal Courts of Justice
Id
GB-FTS-4500

Identifier

Legal Name
Royal Courts of Justice

Address

Locality
London
Postal Code
WC2A 2LL
Country Name
United Kingdom

Roles

reviewBody

Award information

Award 1
Id
014464-2026-1
Status
active

Related lots

1

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-COH-03990677
Name
Ribble Motor Services Limited

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
014464-2026-1
Award ID
014464-2026-1
Status
active
Date Signed
21 Jan 2026, 00:00

Value

Amount
207,144,966
Currency
GBP

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Liverpool · UKD72 · L31BP · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKD7

Notice and amendment history

2 published notice versions reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

2 VERSIONS
  1. 014462-2026award, contract ·
  2. 014464-2026award, contract ·