Kent County Council: SS15 96 DPS - Supported Local Bus (including Kent Karrier) and Home to School Transport Services

UK-Maidstone: Road transport services.
Section I: Contracting Authority
      I.1) Name and addresses
             Kent County Council
             Kent County Council | Sessions House, Maidstone, Maidstone, ME14 1XQ, United Kingdom
             Tel. +44 3000414141, Email: Compliance.publictransport@kent.gov.uk
             Main Address: www.kent.gov.uk
             NUTS Code: UKJ4
      I.2) Joint procurement
      The contract involves joint procurement: No.
      In the case of joint procurement involving different countries, state applicable national procurement law: Not provided       
      The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body: No.
      I.3) Communication
      The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/tenders/UK-Maidstone:-Road-transport-services./H36G4TQK44
      Additional information can be obtained from: the abovementioned address
      Tenders or requests to participate must be sent electronically via https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/respond/H36G4TQK44 to the abovementioned address       
      Electronic communication requires the use of tools and devices that are not generally available. Unrestricted and full direct access to these tools and devices is possible, free of charge, at: Not provided
      I.4) Type of the contracting authority
            Regional or local authority
      I.5) Main activity
            General public services

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
      II.1.1) Title: SS15 96 DPS - Supported Local Bus (including Kent Karrier) and Home to School Transport Services       
      Reference Number: SS15 96
      II.1.2) Main CPV Code:
      60100000 - Road transport services.

      II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES
      II.1.4) Short description: Kent County Council (the Council) is the largest county council in England covering an area of 3,500 square kilometres. It has an annual expenditure of over £1.6bn on goods and services and a population of 1.8m. The Council provides a wide range of personal and strategic services on behalf of its residents, operating in partnership with 12 district councils and over 300 parish/town councils.

This requirement is from the Growth, Environment and Transport Directorate is for the provision of services operated using PSV or Community (Section 19 or 22) Bus Permits.

The requirements relate to the Council's activity in respect of Supported Local Bus (including Kent Karrier) and Home to School Transport Services. Supported Bus services are procured for the delivery of socially necessary bus services (including Kent Karrier), where the authority will fund the provision of a local bus service which is not commercially viable, which would therefore not otherwise run but which the authority has identified as meeting a social need i.e. rural connectivity. Home to School Transport services are procured to provide school transport for those pupils who are determined by our Education and Young People's Directorate as eligible for free home to school transport. Where the volume of pupils is sufficient to justify a larger vehicle (minibus, coach or bus) these will require provision of this transport by a Public Service Vehicle Licensed Operator who can run services either as a public bus service or as a privately hired vehicle.

Further details of the full scope and specific requirements will be provided within the tender documentation issued under this DPS.

Further background and technical information can be found within the tender documentation.

This Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) was established in 2016, with a start date of 01 January 2017. Due to the lack of viable alternatives provided by the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23) and in line with the transition arrangements, the Council is extending the 'Supported Local Bus and Home to School Transport Services' DPS period of validity - in accordance with Regulation 28(1)(a) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 - from 31 December 2027 to 23 February 2029, to ensure continuity of service. All other terms and conditions of the DPS remain unchanged.

This Dynamic Purchasing System has a total value of £100 million, covering the period from its establishment in 2017 through to the end of its period of validity.       
      II.1.5) Estimated total value:
      Value excluding VAT: 100,000,000       
      Currency: GBP
      II.1.6) Information about lots:
      This contract is divided into lots: No       
   
II.2) Description
      
      II.2.2) Additional CPV codes:
      60000000 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport).
      
      II.2.3) Place of performance:
      UKJ4 Kent
      
      II.2.4) Description of procurement: The Council established this DPS to tender a variety of transport requirements as detailed in section II.I.4.

This notice confirms the extension of the "Supported Local Bus (including Kent Karrier) and Home to School Transport Services" Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) period of validity, as referenced in section II.I.4.
The DPS will remain open until 23 February 2029, in accordance with Regulation 34 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Suppliers may apply at any time during this period, provided they meet and continue to meet the Council’s minimum standards as defined in the documents. Successful applicants will have equal standing with existing DPS members, and unsuccessful applicants may reapply at any time. Minimum time limits for tenders under the DPS will be specified in each individual Invitation to Tender (ITT).

Suppliers can access the ‘SS15 96 DPS - Supported Local Bus (including Kent Karrier) and Home to School Transport Services Dynamic Purchasing System’ by visiting the link mentioned above or the www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk
      II.2.5) Award criteria:
            Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents            
      II.2.6) Estimated value:
      Value excluding VAT: 100,000,000       
      Currency: GBP       
      II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system:
      Start: 17/12/2025 / End: 23/02/2029       
      This contract is subject to renewal: No       
      Description of renewals: Not provided
      II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited:
             Envisaged minimum number: 1
             
      Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates: Not provided
      II.2.10) Information about variants:
      Variants will be accepted: No
      II.2.11) Information about options:
      Options:       No             
      Description of options: Not provided
      II.2.12) Information about electronic catalogues:
      Tenders must be presented in the form of electronic catalogues or include an electronic catalogue: Yes
      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds:
      The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No       
      Identification of the project: Not provided             
      II.2.14) Additional information: To respond to this opportunity please click here: https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/respond/H36G4TQK44       


Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial And Technical Information
   III.1) Conditions for participation
      III.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
      List and brief description of conditions:          
      Not Provided       
      III.1.2) Economic and financial standing       
      List and brief description of selection criteria:       
      Not Provided    
      Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required (if applicable) :       
      Not Provided    
      III.1.3) Technical and professional ability
      List and brief description of selection criteria:       
      Not Provided      
      Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required (if applicable) :          
      Not Provided   
      III.1.5) Information about reserved contracts (if applicable)   
      The contract is reserved to sheltered workshops and economic operators aiming at the social and professional integration of disabled or disadvantaged persons: No       
      The execution of the contract is restricted to the framework of sheltered employment programmes: No    
      
   III.2) Conditions related to the contract
      III.2.1) Information about a particular profession    
      Reference to the relevant law, regulation or administrative provision:          
      Not Provided    
      III.2.2) Contract performance conditions          
      Not Provided          
      III.2.3) Information about staff responsible for the performance of the contract
      Obligation to indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff assigned to performing the contract: No

Section IV: Procedure
   IV.1) Description RESTRICTED
      IV.1.1) Type of procedure: Restricted   
   
   IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system    
         The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement    
         Framework agreement with several operators       
         Envisaged maximum number of participants to the framework agreement:
Not Provided               
         The procurement involves the setting up of a dynamic purchasing system          
         In the case of framework agreements justification for any duration exceeding 4 years: Not Provided    
   
   
   IV.1.6) Information about electronic auction:
      An electronic auction will be used: No
      Additional information about electronic auction: Not provided
   IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
      The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No       
   IV.2) Administrative information
      IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure:
         Notice number in the OJ S: Not provided       
      IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
       Date: 22/02/2029
      IV.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates: Not Provided       
      IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: English,       
      IV.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender: Not Provided      
      

Section VI: Complementary Information
   VI.1) Information about recurrence
   This is a recurrent procurement: No    
   Estimated timing for further notices to be published: Not provided
   VI.2) Information about electronic workflows
   Electronic ordering will be used No       
   Electronic invoicing will be accepted No       
   Electronic payment will be used No       
   VI.3) Additional Information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.The contracting authority considers this contract suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, the selection of tenderers will be based exclusively on the criteria specified in the tender documentation.

Futher information can be found at www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk or by following the below links.
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Maidstone:-Road-transport-services./H36G4TQK44

To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/H36G4TQK44
   VI.4) Procedures for review
   VI.4.1) Review body:
             Kent County Council
       County Hall, Madistone, ME14 1XQ, United Kingdom
   VI.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures:
Not provided
   VI.4.3) Review procedure
   Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:    
    Not Provided    
   VI.4.4) Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained:
Not provided
   VI.5) Date Of Dispatch Of This Notice: 18/12/2025

Annex A