New Bus Fleet

Descriptions

Over 400,000 bus journeys are made daily in the Liverpool City Region, representing over 80% of the public transport journeys taken across the Combined Authority area. Across the region, bus journeys are used to connect people to work, schools, universities and colleges and to the shops and leisure activities. The bus network therefore forms a key part of the region's infrastructure.

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. with the whole of the Liverpool City Region due to be franchised by the end of 2027.

To support the transition to franchising, the Combined Authority has taken the decision to procure the required bus fleets itself, such that any bidder selected to operate the franchised lots will have access to use a relevant portion of the region's fleet.

LCRCA will be seeking to procure a variety of vehicles (350+) across multiple lots, likely to include diesel and electric in a mix of midi, single, and double decker sizes.

LCRCA will be seeking a staggered vehicle delivery, starting from April 2027.

To support a transition to a zero emission fleet, all diesel buses must adhere to the Euro VI standard, being the highest bus emission standard currently available for diesel buses. LCRCA would welcome vehicles which can be repowered in their lifetime. Vehicles must be of a right-hand drive design, meet the requirements of the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 2000 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/1970/contents where the dimensions and capacity of the vehicle require them to do so.

It should also be noted that the Government has specified in the National Bus Strategy for England https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-back-better (page 58) that any buses funded by Government must provide an enhanced level of accessibility, as well as induction loops and audio-visual route and next stop information.

All vehicles must confirm to all relevant current legislation and take account of any known forthcoming legislative changes.

LCRCA aims to publish an Invitation to Tender within the next two months, with a 4 week tender period. This will be published on the Procurement Portal The Chest www.the-chest.org.uk and relevant notices published on Find a Tender. LCRCA are planning to use an Open Procedure and estimate that the contract(s) will be awarded at the start of April 2026.

This notice is for information only. Further details will be available when the Contract Notice is published.

At this time, we are not asking for expressions of interest or responses to this Planned Procurement notice.