Official UK procurement notice
LCRCA Bus Franchising Contract Management System
Authority: Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (Local council)
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) is on a journey to take back control of the city region's bus network through Bus Franchising. The LCRCA will become responsible for 100% of the bus network and will award contracts to operators to run these services on their behalf, with key performance metrics in place with constant monitoring of their performance. The LCRCA Bus Franchising service is scheduled to go-live on September 6th 2026 and the new CMS (with PPC) must therefore be procured well in advance of this date and must be fully operational and ready for go-live use by 1st August 2026 (1x month before Bus Franchising go-live). The fully operational go-live date of the 1st August is the minimum date requirement and ideally, LCRCA would expect the Supplier to achieve an operational go-live date in June/July 2026.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) is on a journey to take back control of the city region's bus network through Bus Franchising. The LCRCA will become responsible for 100% of the bus network and will award contracts to operators to run these services on their behalf, with key performance metrics in place with constant monitoring of their performance.
To support LCRCA's Bus Franchising service, LCRCA wish to procure a new Bus Franchising Contract Management System (CMS), with a combined performance payment calculator (PPC).
The LCRCA Bus Franchising service is scheduled to go-live on September 6th 2026 and the new CMS (with PPC) must therefore be procured well in advance of this date and must be fully operational and ready for go-live use by 1st August 2026 (1x month before Bus Franchising go-live).
The fully operational go-live date of the 1st August is the minimum date requirement and ideally, LCRCA would expect the Supplier to achieve an operational go-live date in June/July 2026.
Background
LCRCA have an existing CMS which has been in operation for (approx.) 4yrs and is used for the management of the supported bus network data (approx. 331x contracts across 16x operators, ranging from single school journeys to general daily services).
Note: The current LCRCA CMS is used for the management of the supported bus network data only, and is not used for the current commercial network (approx. 240K trips per month).
LCRCA are looking to engage with a Supplier to provide Contract Management capabilities that will allow the LCRCA to ensure each Bus Franchising Operators' service payment accurately reflects the contract in place and incorporates any performance measure adjustments.
LCRCA's Bus Franchising CMS will need to deliver the following:?
- Business as usual Franchise Contract management (new/change/cancel).
- Contract changes, temporary, emergency and permanent.
- Excellent UI, maximum automation.
- Ability to ingest bus timetable data in TxC format.
- Logging of breaches/fixed penalties.?
- Data export and dashboards.
LCRCA's Bus Franchising PPC will need to deliver the following:?
Ability to hold/refresh indexed elements used in payment calculations.
Integration with AVL data to calculate Indexed Lost Mileage, which has been approved by LCRCA.
Logging of Excusing Events and how data can be excluded from the calculation.
The calculation of bonus/deductions for:
Start Point punctuality.
Intermediate point punctuality.
Vehicle compliance.
Customer Complaints.
Breaches.
Partnering & Growth element.
Patronage element.
Calculation of Service payment in line with payment schedule.
Calculation of performance adjustment.
Logging of miscellaneous payments.
Self-Billing invoice creation.
Approval & authorisation (by different roles) for payment.
Integration with payment system.
- How the procedure runs: The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) is implementing bus franchising, taking full responsibility for the city region's bus network. To support this, LCRCA requires a Contract Management System capable of meeting franchising requirements, including performance monitoring and compliance with key metrics. This opportunity will follow a competitive flexible procurement process: Expression of Interest & PSQ Stage Interested suppliers must register their interest via The Chest procurement portal. Upon registration, suppliers will gain access to the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ). The PSQ must be completed and submitted through The Chest before the stated deadline. Only suppliers who successfully pass the PSQ evaluation will progress to the next stage. Closed Invitation to Tender (ITT) Stage Shortlisted suppliers will be invited to participate in the closed ITT stage. At this point, they will receive the full tender pack, including: Detailed specifications Supporting tender documents Instructions for submission and evaluation criteria This process ensures that only qualified suppliers proceed to the ITT stage, enabling LCRCA to select a solution that meets its operational and strategic objectives for bus franchising.
CPV: IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · Software package and information systems
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1CancelledPublished value£912,000
- Technical & professional ability
Technical Overview
As part of this procurement process, bidders will be required to complete a Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ). The PSQ will include questions designed to assess technical capability, relevant experience, and compliance with initial requirements. All responses must be submitted via The Chest procurement portal by the stated deadline.
The PSQ will outline the key technical requirements for the proposed Contract Management System. These requirements will cover areas such as:
System functionality to support bus franchising operations
Performance monitoring and reporting capabilities
Integration with existing LCRCA systems and data sources
Security, scalability, and user accessibility standards
Suppliers who successfully pass the PSQ stage will be invited to the closed Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage. At this point, they will receive the full specification, along with all supporting tender documents, enabling them to provide a detailed technical and commercial proposal.
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published award criteria (2)
- Price
- Quality
- Technical & professional ability
Technical Overview
As part of this procurement process, bidders will be required to complete a Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ). The PSQ will include questions designed to assess technical capability, relevant experience, and compliance with initial requirements. All responses must be submitted via The Chest procurement portal by the stated deadline.
The PSQ will outline the key technical requirements for the proposed Contract Management System. These requirements will cover areas such as:
System functionality to support bus franchising operations
Performance monitoring and reporting capabilities
Integration with existing LCRCA systems and data sources
Security, scalability, and user accessibility standards
Suppliers who successfully pass the PSQ stage will be invited to the closed Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage. At this point, they will receive the full specification, along with all supporting tender documents, enabling them to provide a detailed technical and commercial proposal.
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| supplier not published | — | 7 Nov 2025 | CancelledDue to an administrative error, the UK4: Tender notice for LCRCA Bus Franchising Contract Management System has been withdrawn. The tender will be republished in due course. |
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Cancelled
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 29 Oct 2025, 16:03 GMT
- Last source update
- 7 Nov 2025, 08:39 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 1 Feb 2026
- Authority reference
DN787667- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-069508- Latest notice
- Procurement termination notice (UK12)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d693Find a Tender
- How it runs
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) is implementing bus franchising, taking full responsibility for the city region's bus network. To support this, LCRCA requires a Contract Management System capable of meeting franchising requirements, including performance monitoring and compliance with key metrics.
This opportunity will follow a competitive flexible procurement process:
Expression of Interest & PSQ Stage
Interested suppliers must register their interest via The Chest procurement portal. Upon registration, suppliers will gain access to the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ).
The PSQ must be completed and submitted through The Chest before the stated deadline.
Only suppliers who successfully pass the PSQ evaluation will progress to the next stage.
Closed Invitation to Tender (ITT) Stage
Shortlisted suppliers will be invited to participate in the closed ITT stage. At this point, they will receive the full tender pack, including:
Detailed specifications
Supporting tender documents
Instructions for submission and evaluation criteria
This process ensures that only qualified suppliers proceed to the ITT stage, enabling LCRCA to select a solution that meets its operational and strategic objectives for bus franchising.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 28 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 19 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Not allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Bidders wishing to respond to this tender opportunity are requested to log in to their ProContract Due North portal account. The tender can be located by searching its description or using the DN reference number provided.
Once you have accessed the tender, you will be able to view and complete the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ). All responses must be submitted via the Proactis portal before the stated deadline. This PSQ stage is mandatory and will determine which suppliers progress to the next stage of the procurement process.
To register for this tender opportunity and other public sector tenders, please visit:
Timeline
29 Oct 2025 → 1 Aug 2026 · 6 dates- Tender notice published369 days ago29 Oct 2025, 16:03 GMT
- Latest notice published360 days ago7 Nov 2025, 08:39 GMT
- Clarification questions by348 days ago19 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadline339 days ago28 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by273 days ago1 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts94 days ago1 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 29 Oct 2025- Tender notice published29 Oct 2025, 16:03 GMTUK4
- Procurement termination notice published7 Nov 2025, 08:39 GMTUK12
- Status changed to cancelled7 Nov 2025, 08:39 GMT
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Procurement termination notice Procurement termination notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender