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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Bus Reform - Commercial Market Testing

North East Combined Authority · Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 30 Sept 2026, 12:30.

Opportunity overview

On 8 August 2024, the North East Combined Authority published notice of its intention to prepare an assessment of a proposed bus franchising scheme in accordance with section 123B and section 123C(4) of the Transport Act 2000, as amended by the Bus Services Act 2017 (Transport Act 2000) The North East CA is developing the Franchising Scheme Assessment and is now seeking to engage with the bus market in order to inform the definition of the proposed franchising scheme. Bus Reform legislation and guidance requires the CA to state whether the commercial terms are likely to be attractive to operators - including a summary of the extent to which both incumbent and new operators are expected to bid. The North East CA has prepared market testing materials including a note covering the proposed franchising scheme, and a questionnaire to gather operator views on the proposed commercial model. There is also an opportunity to request a 1-2-1 session with the North East CA. The deadline to request 1-2-1 meetings and submit a questionnaire is the 14th November 2025. To receive the market testing materials or for any further information please contact Rachel.smith1@northeast-ca.gov.uk. This market testing exercise does not form part of any pre-procurement.

Classification

  • CPV60000000 — Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

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
ocds-h6vhtk-05dbf1
Status
planning
Above Threshold
No
Main Procurement Category
services

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Special regime

lightTouch

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
planning

Suitability

Sme
Yes
Vcse
Yes

Contract period

Ends
30 Nov 2025, 23:59
Starts
7 Nov 2025, 00:00

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKC
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Additional Classifications

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

Planning and budget

Documents

Entry 1
Id
071682-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Published
6 Nov 2025, 14:42

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
engagement
Type
engagement
Status
scheduled
Due
14 Nov 2025, 23:59
Description
To receive the market testing materials or for any further information please contact Rachel.smith1@northeast-ca.gov.uk.

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-PPON-PJMR-6594-BRGH
Name
North East Combined Authority

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKC22
Country
GB
Locality
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Postal Code
NE4 5BZ
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
The Lumen, St James' Boulevard

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Description
Public authority - sub-central government

Identifier

Id
PJMR-6594-BRGH
Scheme
GB-PPON

Contact

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Newcastle Upon Tyne · UKC22 · NE4 5BZ · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKC · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-05dbf1-2025-11-06T14:42:42ZPreliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·