✓Tender information last checkedLast checked 21 Oct 2026, 16:07.
Opportunity overview
Kent County Council is seeking to appoint a supplier to deliver it's Concessionary Cards and Associated Services contract, which includes elements such as:
1. Smart Card Production for Kent Concessionary Travel Schemes
Production of smart, data-encoded bus passes with relevant personalisation and adherence to scheme requirements and national ITSO standards. Approximately 250,000 ENCTS passes are renewed every five years, in addition to new applications and replacements, and are distributed to home addresses. Approximately 27,000 Kent Travel Saver passes are renewed each summer and distributed to schools.
2. Entitled Scholar Pass Production
Production of non-smart bus passes for children entitled to free school transport. Around 5,000 passes are reprinted annually, plus in-year replacements, and are sent to schools and home addresses.
3. Application Portals
Provision of customer-facing application and self-service platforms for ENCTS and Kent Travel Saver, meeting relevant national and KCC IT and data security standards.
4. Customer Management Systems
Scheme and customer management systems for ENCTS and Kent Travel Saver, enabling authorised staff to manage and update customer records and status, and to cancel and reorder passes.
5. ENCTS Administration
Management of customer enquiries and complaints relating to applications and passes; processing new and renewed ENCTS applications submitted online or by post; and assessment of applications and supporting evidence against national eligibility criteria and guidance.
6. HOPS
Smartcard management for Kent Travel Saver and ENCTS, including capture, recording and export of journey data from operator ticket machines and the sending of messages to ticket machines and smartcards, including hot-listing cancelled passes.
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the eSourcing portal at:
https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/tenders/UK-UK-Maidstone:-Transport-systems-consultancy-services./2K5525W85D
To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/respond/2K5525W85D
Classification
CPV71311200 — Transport systems consultancy services
Lots
Lot 1Value not stated
Documents and notices
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a TenderOpen source ↗
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.
Kent County Council is seeking to appoint a supplier to deliver it's Concessionary Cards and Associated Services contract, which includes elements such as:
1. Smart Card Production for Kent Concessionary Travel Schemes
Production of smart, data-encoded bus passes with relevant personalisation and adherence to scheme requirements and national ITSO standards. Approximately 250,000 ENCTS passes are renewed every five years, in addition to new applications and replacements, and are distributed to home addresses. Approximately 27,000 Kent Travel Saver passes are renewed each summer and distributed to schools.
2. Entitled Scholar Pass Production
Production of non-smart bus passes for children entitled to free school transport. Around 5,000 passes are reprinted annually, plus in-year replacements, and are sent to schools and home addresses.
3. Application Portals
Provision of customer-facing application and self-service platforms for ENCTS and Kent Travel Saver, meeting relevant national and KCC IT and data security standards.
4. Customer Management Systems
Scheme and customer management systems for ENCTS and Kent Travel Saver, enabling authorised staff to manage and update customer records and status, and to cancel and reorder passes.
5. ENCTS Administration
Management of customer enquiries and complaints relating to applications and passes; processing new and renewed ENCTS applications submitted online or by post; and assessment of applications and supporting evidence against national eligibility criteria and guidance.
6. HOPS
Smartcard management for Kent Travel Saver and ENCTS, including capture, recording and export of journey data from operator ticket machines and the sending of messages to ticket machines and smartcards, including hot-listing cancelled passes.
Due
27 Nov 2026, 23:59
Status
scheduled
Documents
Entry 1
Id
099538-2026
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.
1 VERSION
1
099538-2026Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·
PROCURAAXIS ANALYSIS
ProcuraAxis Analysis
Our approved analysis of the opportunity appears below the official tender information.
ANALYSIS PREVIEW
Opportunity intelligence at a glance
Early-stage/planned market engagement by Kent County Council for concessionary-card services: smart and non-smart pass production, application portals, customer-management systems, ENCTS administration, and smartcard/journey-data management (HOPS). This is not stated to be an open bidding opportunity.
Who this may suit
Potential fit for providers of public-transport smartcard/pass production, secure digital application and case-management platforms, and ENCTS-related administration. Final supplier, submission and procurement requirements are unknown at this stage.
Key points identified
Smart card productionProduce smart, data-encoded bus passes with personalisation for Kent concessionary travel schemes.Evidence: "Production of smart, data-encoded bus passes with relevant personalisation"
ITSO standardsSmart-card production must adhere to national ITSO standards.Evidence: "adherence to scheme requirements and national ITSO standards"
Application portalsProvide customer-facing application and self-service platforms for ENCTS and Kent Travel Saver.Evidence: "Provision of customer-facing application and self-service platforms for ENCTS and Kent Travel Saver"
96% approved-analysis confidence8 supplier criteria identified3 risks or unknowns
ProcuraAxis structures information found in published procurement records, checks the result for consistency and publishes only approved analysis. Confidence describes the completeness and consistency of the available source information; it is not a guarantee of eligibility or contract award.
Early-stage/planned market engagement by Kent County Council for concessionary-card services: smart and non-smart pass production, application portals, customer-management systems, ENCTS administration, and smartcard/journey-data management (HOPS). This is not stated to be an open bidding opportunity.
Who this may suit
Potential fit for providers of public-transport smartcard/pass production, secure digital application and case-management platforms, and ENCTS-related administration. Final supplier, submission and procurement requirements are unknown at this stage.
Key deliverables
Smart, data-encoded ENCTS bus passes and Kent Travel Saver passes
Non-smart entitled scholar passes
Customer-facing application and self-service platforms
Scheme and customer management systems
ENCTS application, enquiry and complaint administration
HOPS smartcard and journey-data management
SUPPLIER REQUIREMENTS
8 criteria identified
Smart card production
98% confidence
Produce smart, data-encoded bus passes with personalisation for Kent concessionary travel schemes.
View supporting evidence
"Production of smart, data-encoded bus passes with relevant personalisation"
ITSO standards
98% confidence
Smart-card production must adhere to national ITSO standards.
View supporting evidence
"adherence to scheme requirements and national ITSO standards"
Application portals
98% confidence
Provide customer-facing application and self-service platforms for ENCTS and Kent Travel Saver.
View supporting evidence
"Provision of customer-facing application and self-service platforms for ENCTS and Kent Travel Saver"
Security standards
97% confidence
Platforms must meet relevant national and KCC IT and data-security standards.
View supporting evidence
"meeting relevant national and KCC IT and data security standards"
Customer management
98% confidence
Provide systems enabling authorised staff to manage and update records/status and cancel and reorder passes.
View supporting evidence
"enabling authorised staff to manage and update customer records and status, and to cancel and reorder passes"
ENCTS administration
98% confidence
Manage enquiries and complaints; process online and postal applications; assess applications and evidence against national eligibility criteria and guidance.
View supporting evidence
"Management of customer enquiries and complaints... processing new and renewed ENCTS applications... and assessment of applications and supporting evidence against national eligibility criteria and guidance."
HOPS
98% confidence
Manage smartcards, journey-data capture/recording/export, messages to ticket machines and smartcards, and hot-listing of cancelled passes.
View supporting evidence
"including capture, recording and export of journey data... sending of messages to ticket machines and smartcards, including hot-listing cancelled passes"
Supplier eligibility requirements
99% confidence
Unknown.
View supporting evidence
No supplier eligibility, financial standing, insurance, company-size or exclusion requirements are stated in the supplied planning notice.
No pricing model, contract duration, payment terms or contractual terms are stated.
Delivery
Delivery area
94% confidence
UKJ4, United Kingdom.
View supporting evidence
Delivery location field: region "UKJ4", country "United Kingdom".
Distribution channels
98% confidence
Passes are to be sent to home addresses; Kent Travel Saver passes are also distributed to schools, and scholar passes are sent to schools and home addresses.
View supporting evidence
"distributed to home addresses"; "distributed to schools"; "sent to schools and home addresses".
Volumes
97% confidence
Approximately 250,000 ENCTS passes renewed every five years; approximately 27,000 Kent Travel Saver passes renewed each summer; around 5,000 entitled scholar passes reprinted annually, plus replacements.
View supporting evidence
"Approximately 250,000 ENCTS passes are renewed every five years"; "Approximately 27,000 Kent Travel Saver passes are renewed each summer"; "Around 5,000 passes are reprinted annually".
PROCEDURE
How to respond
Opportunity status
99% confidence
Upcoming planning-stage preliminary market engagement; not stated to be open for tender submissions.
View supporting evidence
"stage": "planning"; "display_status": "upcoming"; notice type: "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender".
Procurement method
99% confidence
Unknown.
View supporting evidence
Opportunity field: "procurement_method": null.
Submission deadline
99% confidence
Unknown.
View supporting evidence
Opportunity field: "submission_deadline": null.
RISKS AND UNKNOWNS
Points requiring attention
Early-stage procurement
99% confidence
This is a planned preliminary market engagement notice, not a confirmed open tender. Final scope, procurement route, timetable, contract terms and submission requirements remain unknown.
View supporting evidence
"stage": "planning"; "display_status": "upcoming"; notice type: "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender".
Classification mismatch
98% confidence
The supplied CPV is transport systems consultancy services, while the narrative describes pass production, platforms, administration and smartcard management. The classification should be treated as discovery metadata only.
View supporting evidence
CPV: "71311200 — Transport systems consultancy services"; description lists card production, portals, administration and HOPS.
Lot information incomplete
99% confidence
A planning lot with ID "1" is supplied but has no title, description, value or deadline; no distinct lot scope can be attributed.
View supporting evidence
Lot 1 fields: title null, description null, value_amount null, submission_deadline null.
ProcuraAxis analysis supplements, but does not replace, the original notice and tender documents. Always verify eligibility, deadlines and commercial terms with the issuing authority.
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