Transport tenders in the UK: where to find them and which to bid for

Published 30 October 2026

UK public transport tenders are advertised on Find a Tender, which is free to search, and on Contracts Finder, where a lot of transport work still shows up. Contracts Finder had about 51 new transport opportunities a month between July and October 2026. Before you bid, check the size, location, licences and time left.

Councils and other public buyers pay for transport, from school journeys to minibus, coach and taxi work. On Contracts Finder, buyers marked almost all transport opportunities as suitable for small and medium-sized businesses. This guide covers where transport tenders are advertised, how many there are, how competitive they are, which licences come up and how to choose which ones to bid on.

Where are transport tenders advertised?

• Find a Tender (find-tender.service.gov.uk) is the main place. Since the Procurement Act 2023 came in on 24 February 2025, it has been part of the government's Central Digital Platform, which carries both larger and smaller notices for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It's free to search, and you can set up email alerts.
• Contracts Finder (contractsfinder.service.gov.uk) still lists procurements that started under the old rules before 24 February 2025. A lot of transport work still shows up there.
• Scotland has its own procurement rules and its own portal, Public Contracts Scotland.

For contracts worth at least £30,000 including tax (£12,000 for central government, which now includes NHS trusts), a buyer that advertises the contract has to publish a notice on the Central Digital Platform first, under section 87 of the Procurement Act. Schools are exempt from these below-threshold notice rules.

How many transport tenders are there?

We counted notices whose main classification code is transport services. Between 1 September and 28 October 2026, Find a Tender had about 13 new transport tender notices a month, and about 3 a month stated a value under £500,000. Notices that didn't state a value aren't in that figure.

Contracts Finder was busier. It had about 51 new transport opportunities a month between July and October 2026, and buyers marked 98% of them as suitable for small or medium-sized suppliers.

Who wins transport contracts?

Of the 1,680 transport contracts awarded on Contracts Finder between 1 July and 28 October 2026, 340 (20%) went to small and medium-sized businesses. Most of those wins were modest: 197 of the 340 were worth between £10,000 and £100,000. Our sector breakdown compares transport with the other sectors.

How competitive are transport tenders?

Some award notices say how many bids each lot received. Across 406 transport lots with a published count, the median was 5 bids, and 16% had only one. Our guide to how many bids public tenders get compares the sectors.

For larger competitive tenders under £5 million, the contract award notice usually shows how many tenders came in and how many were from small businesses. Looking up past transport awards from the same buyer tells you what you're up against.

What do buyers usually ask a transport business for?

Every tender is different, so read the documents. These come up often:

• The right operator licence. GOV.UK says you need a public service vehicle (PSV) operator's licence to operate a vehicle for hire or reward that can carry 9 or more passengers, or a smaller vehicle carrying passengers and charging separate fares. A restricted licence covers small-scale operations of 1 or 2 vehicles. A private bus or coach service in London needs a London Service Permit.
• Taxi and private hire licences. Taxis and private hire vehicles are licensed by the local council, and by Transport for London in London. Check whose licence the buyer accepts before you bid.
• Driver checks. The Department for Transport's statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards say licensing authorities should carry out an enhanced DBS check with a check of the children's and adults' barred lists for every driver applying for or renewing a licence. Contracts that carry children or vulnerable adults often ask how you check drivers and passenger assistants.
• Registration on the Central Digital Platform. Before a contract is awarded, the buyer needs your registration and unique identifier. Since 1 April 2026 that applies to smaller contracts too, before the buyer publishes the contract details notice. Registration is free. Our Central Digital Platform guide walks through it.
• Quality answers. In our count of notices that published award criteria, 8 of 23 transport notices (35%) had a criterion with "social value" in its name or description. That's a small sample. Our social value guide covers how to answer one.
• Proportionate conditions. For larger contracts, buyers can only test your legal and financial capacity and your technical ability, and only in ways that are proportionate to the contract.

Which transport tenders should I skip?

A bid takes time. The FSB found that it takes small businesses five days on average to prepare a bid. Before you start, check:

1. Size. Can you cover every route on the timetable from day one, with the vehicles and drivers you have, including cover for sickness?
2. Location. A route a long way from your base adds dead mileage you have to price in.
3. Licences. Make sure your operator licence and your drivers' licences match what the contract asks for before you spend time on the bid.
4. Time left. Under the Procurement Act, a larger open tender usually gets at least 25 days, and in some cases as few as 10. Smaller contracts only need a reasonable period.
5. Fit with your evidence. If you have no similar route or contract to point to, a smaller lot is a better first win.

For more on where to start, see our guide to tender help for small businesses.

Get the transport shortlist

UK Tender Desk, from Your Evenings Ltd (that's us), is a one-off £149 diagnostic for small businesses in construction trades, training, transport, care, cleaning and catering. It's done for you. We look at live tenders on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder, pick up to 5 that suit a business your size, and tell you what to fix before you bid. It arrives by email within 5 working days of your form, with no call. If it's late, you don't pay. If no live tender fits, we say so and why.

See what the diagnostic looks like · Get your tender shortlist for £149

Sources

• Find a Tender and Contracts Finder
• Procurement Act 2023, section 87 (below-threshold notices) and section 22 (conditions of participation)
• GOV.UK: Guidance: Below-Threshold Contracts
• The Procurement Regulations 2024, regulation 36A (supplier registration, from 1 April 2026)
• GOV.UK: Time periods guidance
• GOV.UK: Contract award notices and standstill guidance
• GOV.UK: PSV operator licences (read 30 October 2026)
• GOV.UK: Statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards, section 6.1 (read 30 October 2026)
• FSB press release, 15 December 2025
• Our counts: Find a Tender and Contracts Finder open data (OCDS), counted by Your Evenings Ltd on 30 October 2026. Transport is classification code 60 (transport services), which is mostly passenger transport but also includes some other transport work. The social value sample is small.

This guide summarises the official sources above. It isn't legal advice. Check the notice and tender documents for each contract.

Written with AI assistance by the Your Evenings team at Your Evenings Ltd. Last updated 30 October 2026.