Announcement of TfL Tenders

[MotCO]

Is there an official timetable for the announcement of each tranche of TfL tender awards? Some tranches seem to be announced earlier than others. For example, the tender for the Orpington routes (incl route 61) has yet to be announced, but others with a later start date have already been announced.

Also, where are the tenders announced? LOTS seems to record them quite quickly, but I have no idea what the source is.

 

[CatfordCat]

To the best of my understanding, there is no formal announcement date for each tender tranche. Some are more complicated and need more consideration than others, for example

a) where TFL tender multiple options - in terms of route, frequency, vehicle types or any combination of these (and the route options may need considering in the light of any consultation exercise)

b) where operators offer multiple options, e.g. we will do route A for X price, route B for Y price, but we can do routes A and B for Z price. And / or alternative prices for new / refurbished buses / electric / hybrid buses.

And if a route falls in to both categories, or if routes A and B are in different tender tranches, then it gets more complicated.

This is TFL bus tendering page and does include tender results - although as of today, tenders awarded on 18 May are the latest shown, while LOTS has those awarded on 20 June (albeit just showing who the winning operator is.)

Broadly speaking, operators who have won / lost / retained routes are advised (at high level) in confidence the day before the tender award is made public, then all operators are advised the results of all of that day's awards the next day at which point it's considered to be in the public domain.

I'm not quite sure who else is on the circulation list, LOTS seem to get it fairly quick. Presume the info is posted on TFL's website fairly quick, but doesn't seem to be a press release as such.

 

[Wirewiper]

There were murmurings from enthusiasts about the length of time it was taking to announce the 43 and 134 (and lots of speculation to fill the void, such as Arriva winning the 43 and running it from Wood Green!). When the announcement came, the reason for the delay became obvious - both routes are staying with Metroline, and will be converted to full electric double-deck operation during 2019. There must have been a lot of back-room negotiating on that one!

 

[Robertj21a]

I guess LOTS gets the information as early as anybody as they have many members who work for TfL.

 

[RJ]

There isn't a specifc date the award should be announced as such - though there is an anticipated month in which this should happen.

The results are sent to all relevant teams within TfL and sometimes a slightly different version is sent out to the bus operators. These are usually sent out at the same time of the day every time. I find it amusing just how quickly the external version is pasted around the enthusiast groups - usually within a minute of it going out!

Occasionally you get some idiot posting fake results. Driver talk thrives on conjecture and hearsay and such information spreads like wildfire. This isn't good as if a route moves operators or lowers in PVR, it can seriously affect operational staff's personal circumstances so actually, tender results are quite an exciting and emotive subject. For these reasons, only certain members of the enthusiast community known to work in the industry or have reliable sources are really trusted when these are unofficially disseminated.

In terms of official relay to the public domain, they are published on TfL's website and also the Service Changes document.

 

[MotCO]

In terms of official relay to the public domain, they are published on TfL's website and also the Service Changes document.

Can you indicate where on the website they are published? I've found https://tfl.gov.uk/forms/13796.aspx?btDates=18 May 2018 but that does not include the announcement made on 20 June and shown on the LOTS website.

 

[RJ]

Can you indicate where on the website they are published? I've found https://tfl.gov.uk/forms/13796.aspx?btDates=18 May 2018 but that does not include the announcement made on 20 June and shown on the LOTS website.

It's on that part of the website which isn't necessarily updated immediately after the email is sent around.