Public procurement notice: Contract Award Notice
Published: 2019-11-25
Buyer: Fife Council
Country: UK
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Restricted procedure
CPV classification: 60112000 | 60130000 | 60140000 | 60170000 | 60172000
Estimated value: 150000000 GBP
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: Fife Council are seeking to invite passenger vehicle operators to participate in a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) which will be used to procure transport-related ‘service contracts’ operated by Public Service Vehicles (PSV) including but not limited to subsidised local bus services, home to school transport and ad-hoc hires for occasions such as, but not limited to, school trips. It is anticipated that the DPS will run for a period of 10 years and that mini-competitions will be run under it.
Organisations applying for this DPS should note that in most cases the deadline for return of tenders will be a minimum of ten (10) days from the date on which the invitation to tender is issued. Where the Council considers it necessary, for operational reasons, to fix a shorter deadline, it may do so but will give at least two (2) days from the date on which the invitation to tender is issued for the receipt of tenders.
Services will be provided mainly in Fife but some contracts may extend into other Council areas, this is particularly likely to be the case for ad-hoc one-off requirements.
Fife Council is inviting operators of passenger vehicles (PSV licence holders) to participate in a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) which will be used to procure transport-related ‘service contracts’, mainly for local bus services, home to school services, and one-off hires for occasions such as, but not limited to, school trips.
Operators may join the DPS at any point during its lifetime validity if they satisfy the selection criteria and none of the grounds for exclusion apply that are set out in the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD).
Under the DPS, contracts awarded will be subject to a tendering process (i.e. mini-competition) with all operators who have been admitted to the DPS being invited to tender. It will not always be possible to give 10 days to respond to mini-competitions, particularly for ad-hoc hires.
Applications to join the DPS will be processed via PCS-Tender, or any future equivalent system introduced by the Scottish Government, as and when they are received.
It is anticipated that contracts awarded to local and home to school bus services will be for 4 years and that a price to quality ratio of 90 % price and 10 % quality may apply, but this may vary, information at II.2.5) is a guide only. Quality questions may potentially include areas such as but not limited to workforce matters, community benefits, communication, contingency planning. It is anticipated that contracts awarded for ad-hoc services will be for one-off requirements and price will be the key factor, with availability also potentially being considered. Fife Council reserves the right to stop the operation of the DPS at any time.
Variants and options which meet the minimum requirement(s) in a contract specification may be considered, if requested and submitted in addition to a compliant bid. They should not be offered unless allowed for in the tender documents for the individual mini-competitions.
Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. Variants may only be considered in certain circumstances. They should not be offered unless allowed for in the tender documents for the individual mini-competitions.


Winner: A1 Minibus and Coach Services Ltd
Award value: 150000000
Number of bids: 32