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Planned procurement · Notice 086134-2026

Bus Franchising - Dynamic Market for the South West

Transport for Wales (TFW)

Value
£400m
Stage
Early notice
Where
Wales
Lots
1
Suitable for SMEs
Yes, says the buyer
Contract
1 Feb 2027 – 31 Jan 2038

In plain English

Transport for Wales is updating bus operators on plans to run franchised bus services in South West Wales, with contracts expected to run from February 2027 to January 2038. This notice is not a tender - it announces two online sessions in September 2026 where TfW will share revised franchise packages, and flags that a separate notice setting up the list of approved bus operators will follow.

Good fit for: Licensed bus and coach operators running local scheduled services in South West Wales.

The catch:
  • Only for operators who already took part in the earlier engagement - it is not an invitation for new operators to come forward
  • Bidding later will require joining TfW's approved operator list (the Qualifying Utilities Dynamic Market), set out in a future notice
  • Engagement sessions are on fixed dates, 22 and 24 September 2026, 13:00-14:00
  • Very large overall value (£400m) across an 11-year term

Written with AI from the official notice. Check the notice before relying on it.

What the buyer says

The purpose of this UK2 notice is to provide an update in relation to a previously published notice on the 20th October 2025. Original UK2 OCID Reference: ocds-h6vhtk-05cf71 1. Contracting parties The Welsh Ministers are the Franchising Authority for franchised bus services in Wales and contracts awarded under the QUDM will be entered into by the Welsh Ministers in this capacity. Transport for Wales will be responsible for administering and operating the QUDM and will manage procurement procedures and contract administration on behalf of both parties. 2. Progress on the Engagement Process Due to unforeseen delays with the delivery of the Bus Franchising programme, the market engagement activity described in this original notice has taken longer than envisaged. The authority will be providing feedback to operators who have already responded to the initial notice in order to conclude this stage of the engagement process. TfW would like to thank all operators who attended the Bus Franchising market engagement sessions held throughout 2025 and 2026, including operator 121 sessions, and for the feedback provided. TfW will be holding two virtual South West Wales market engagement sessions, taking place on Tuesday 22nd September 2026 and Thursday 24th September 2026 at 13:00-14:00, to share the revised franchise packages and provide an update on proposed changes to the Dynamic Market structure. The session will follow a "You Said, We Did" approach, showcasing the revised packages following consideration of feedback received through the previous engagement activity. This session is not a new stage of market engagement and is not intended to seek further feedback on the revised package design. It is an opportunity for TfW to share the revised packages with operators following t…

Read the official notice

What happens next

This is an early notice: the buyer is planning a tender, and its documents come when the tender is published. Read the official notice for the details.

Procedure: not stated. Published 10 Sep 2026.

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