Home To School Replacement Bus Framework
Framework Description
The Education Authority (EA) is preparing to procure a four-year Home to School Replacement Bus Framework to renew its school bus fleet. The framework will be split into lots by vehicle type, covering mainstream school buses and special educational needs buses. All vehicles must be diesel and built to full EA specifications. The procurement is at the pre-tender stage.
Context & Use Case
The EA will use the framework to replace the buses that carry pupils to and from school, including vehicles adapted for pupils who use wheelchairs. Rather than buying everything at once, it will run secondary competitions between appointed suppliers as and when vehicle funding becomes available, so orders are likely to arrive in batches over the four-year term.
Scope of Services
Mainstream school buses: 22-seat vans, 33-seat and 57-seat coaches SEN buses: 16-seat with wheelchair access, 22-seat and 28-seat with wheelchair access Custom builds to full EA specifications Full-seated Class 3 category vehicles Diesel vehicles only
Lots
Yes: Multiple lots covering mainstream school bus types and special educational needs school buses with various seating and wheelchair configurations
Who Can Apply
Bus and coach manufacturers, converters and dealers able to build to custom specifications, including wheelchair-accessible SEN vehicles, should prepare to bid. This is a new framework, so suppliers can only win a place through the forthcoming tender, and there is unlikely to be another chance during its four-year term.
Buyer Benefits
Lots by vehicle type let the EA compare like-for-like builds, and pre-appointed suppliers mean it can place orders quickly once funding is confirmed, instead of starting a new tender each time. A common EA specification keeps the fleet consistent, with diesel, full-seated vehicles throughout.
Next Steps
Read the notice on Find a Tender (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/procurement/ocds-h6vhtk-06994a) and register for updates. Start preparing now: review the EA's vehicle specifications as they are released, confirm you can supply diesel, full-seated Class 3 vehicles, and gather evidence of school bus and wheelchair-accessible builds and fleet-scale delivery.
How Athena Can Help
The EA bus framework is still at the pipeline stage, which is the best time to start. Athena's early bid planning builds your timetable, win themes and compliance checklist before the tender lands, so drafting starts from a plan.
Our bid/no-bid and pricing guidance helps you decide which vehicle lots to target and how to price batches of orders given funding uncertainty, and our transport framework planning sets this tender alongside other fleet frameworks you could pursue.
