Estimated Value
£152,000 – £724,347
Deadline
28 August 2026
Published
2 October 2026
Type
Not specified
Overview
Cumberland Council is awarding contracts for the operation of Supported Bus Services. These services form a critical element of Cumberland's transport network, ensuring continued provision of bus services where the commercial operation is not viable and supporting access for people to employment, education, healthcare and essential services across both urban and rural communities.
Cumberland Council has a proactive role in shaping the local bus network, supported by government investment through Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding and also the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) funding. The council tendered for 15 bus routes.
The Invitation to Tender (ITT) advised that due to funding constraints, not all services could be supported. As also advised in the ITT, following evaluation of tenders against the published award criteria, services were prioritised based on an assessment of tendered costs and current passenger usage data to calculate an estimated subsidy cost per passenger journey.
Key dates
- Duration
- 12 months
Additional details
Routes providing the best value for money were prioritised for award within the available budget. Following this, contracts are to be awarded to one provider for 11 routes, for a term of 12 months (with no extension periods available).
Contracts will not be awarded for 4 routes. The overall value of the 11 contracts is £2,531,347 excluding VAT.
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Award Details
STAGECOACH (NORTH WEST) LIMITED
£181,000
Likely incumbents
Suppliers who won similar work from this buyer in the last 5 years.
- 1
ROLAND HILL (PARSONBY) LIMITED
£178m
total awarded
- 2
THOMAS ARMSTRONG (CONSTRUCTION) LIMITED
£179m
total awarded
- 3
METCALFE PLANT HIRE LIMITED
£177m
total awarded
- 4
TOP NOTCH CONTRACTORS LIMITED
£177m
total awarded
- 5
MICHAEL THOMPSON (PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTORS AND ENGINEERS) LIMITED
£176m
total awarded
ROLAND HILL (PARSONBY) LIMITED is the most likely incumbent based on recency and category match. To win, bidders typically need a clearly differentiated proposition or a price advantage.
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two years of filed accountsyour financial standingturnover vs contract valueyour Companies House recordcash flow for 30-day termscredit scores and ratios
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Buyer Profile
Cumberland CouncilKey Dates
Published
2 October 2026
Submission deadline
28 August 2026
Notice type
award
Source
find a tender
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