Procurement for passenger transport contracts

Information on the procurement of passenger transport services including:

  • Home to school Transport for both mainstream and SEN schools
  • Children’s Social Care Transport
  • Adult Social Care Transport
  • Community Transport Services
  • Subsidised Public Bus Services
  • Taxishares and Carshares

To view and tender for transport contracts, suppliers must join the DPS for the Provision of Passenger Services. To do this you must first create an Intend account and then submit an application to join the DPS, as per the steps outlined below.

In-tend

The County Council’s electronic tendering system is In-tend. It lets you:

  • view current/future tenders, contracts and quotations
  • view information on contracts that have already been awarded
  • express interest in a particular tender or quotation
  • receive tender and/or quotation documentation
  • securely return your tender or quotation documents
  • send/receive correspondence

If you are not already registered on In-tend, you will need to register your company on In-tend to access any of the above.

In-tend registration is free and takes only minutes to do. By registering it will also prepare your organisation for taking part in future tendering opportunities with either the Council, Police or Fire Service, which will be competed via the system.

Register on In-tend

Joining the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for the Provision of Passenger Transport Services

The Council tenders transport contracts via this DPS to have a pool of pre-approval suppliers that can tender transport contracts via mini competitions, quick quotes, and electronic auctions.

To view and bid for any new or retendered transport contracts, you must become an Accepted Supplier on the DPS for the Provision of Passenger Transport Services.

To join the DPS, you need to:

Step 1

Step 1: Go to the In-Tend website and log in, then the tab ‘Tenders’, then ‘Current Tenders’ and search for the code ET16643.

Suppliers can now apply for and to hold a number of virtual In-tend 'flags'. These will indicate your capability as a supplier to provide more specialist forms of transport.

An outline of the flags can be found in the Supplier Guide in the ET16643 document set and on this webpage. The specific requirements that you need to meet when holding flags are outlined in the DPS Specification which can also be found in the ET16643 document set.

You can apply to join other flags/categories by re-submitting your DPS application. If you wish to remove yourself from a particular flag/category, please contact [email protected]

Step 2

Step 2: Complete the online selection questionnaire, ensuring you follow all related guidance.

The online questionnaire gives us all the details we need about you as a supplier so we can confirm that you can provide services in a way that meets our minimum required standards.

Please ensure you read the DPS Passenger Transport 23-33 ITT and SQ Guidance before submitting your questionnaire.

Your application will be assessed against the DPS onboarding criteria. Most applications are marked within ten working days. Please monitor your In-tend correspondence in case we have any additional queries for you to answer.

Suppliers are now required to hold written policies and procedures on a number of operational areas when they join the DPS. Please see Supplier policies and procedures guidance for more information.

Step 3

Step 3: If you meet our minimum DPS onboarding criteria, we will issue you a Supplier DPS Agreement which you will need to sign and return to us before you can tender for call-off contracts.

The DPS Agreement will be issued to you via DocuSign through email. Please ensure you provide an email address within your application which is regularly monitored.

You can re-apply to join the DPS again if your initial application was unsuccessful. A letter will have been issued to you via In-tend correspondence with a summary of your application.

Help and guidance

The document Supplier Guide - How the DPS Will Operate explains how the DPS will operate on a day-to-day basis and explains the various different call-off mechanisms and when they will be used.

In-tend Guidance

The In-tend page https://in-tendhost.co.uk/hampshire/aspx/BuyerProfiles contains In-tend system supplier guidance on the following areas:

  • How to register as a supplier on In-tend
  • e-Auction supplier guidance and video demo (approx. 2 mins duration)
DPS Contract Documents

If you have been accepted on to the DPS, the links below will take you to copies of the relevant contractual documents for your information:

Codes of conduct and practice
Supplier lists and contracts awarded

ET16643 - Passenger Transport DPS Quarterly Award Report - 1 January to 31 March 2026

DPS for the Provision of Passenger Transport Services – Supplier List

Accepted Supplier means that, at the time of application to join the DPS, the supplier met the minimum standards required to be accepted onto the DPS and committed to meet the additional standards required to operate a Hampshire County Council contract, in the event that a contract is awarded to them.

The Authority monitors the suppliers’ compliance with the minimum standards during the life of the DPS, but being on the Accepted supplier list is not an endorsement of a supplier and should not be used as a method for verifying a supplier’s professional & business standing. It is recommended that individuals and organisations carry out their own checks directly with the company to ensure that they meet their requirements including that drivers hold the appropriate DBS clearance.

Requirements for Accepted Suppliers

Information on Company Changes

Contact us via [email protected] to advise us of any company changes or name changes due to take place.

If you are changing legal entity, we will require you to join the DPS as a new supplier, provide us with copies of your licence and insurance documents to cover your legal entity. Once you have reapplied and been accepted on the DPS in your new entity, you will be set up a new vendor record which you will need to activate. If you hold active contracts, we will liaise with our legal team to novate your current contracts to your new legal entity. The Council will need you to complete the legal paperwork and once this is ready, you will be sent a copy which must be signed by the outgoing party and the incoming party. This can sometimes take up to 6-8 weeks to process.

If your bank details have changed, you will need to update these yourself on your Supplier Self Service record.

Driver Authorisation

You will need to ensure that all drivers that you use on Hampshire County Council contracts are authorised by Hampshire County Council and hold an in-date authorisation letter. You can find out how to do this by following the guidance in the Authorised Drivers Fact Sheet.

Operator provided Passenger Assistants (PAs)

If as a Supplier you can provide a Passenger Assistant (PA) on journeys where the passenger requires additional support, please read the following guidance to understand the steps that you will need to take to gain authorisation for your PAs: Guidance for operator passenger assistants.

Engaging drivers not employed by you directly (owner drivers)

Many suppliers bid for contracts and engage drivers who are not employed by them to deliver them. This is perfectly acceptable as long as you:

  • understand you (not the driver) remain responsible for all aspects of safe, effective contract delivery
  • ensure that all drivers engaged are Authorised drivers for HCC
  • hold £5 million Motor Contingent Liability Cover (Insurance), £10 million for suppliers who operate Public Bus or double decker contracts
  • understand you are responsible for ensuring correct insurances and licences are held by drivers you engage

Passing routes to other Operators: Sub-contracting routes

We have agreed to contract with you, the supplier who has been accepted to join the DPS. Within the bounds of what your licence legally allows, a route may be passed (subcontracted) to another supplier to deliver only if the other supplier has been an accepted supplier on the DPS. Your contract officer will need to be informed if you intend to subcontract a route, you (the supplier awarded the contract) remain responsible for all aspects of safe, effective contract delivery and hold our required insurances, licences and have drivers who are in receipt of an Authorisation Letter from Hampshire County Council.

Insurance requirements

Copies of the insurance documents will be requested on an annual basis from our active suppliers. For each of the insurances, a copy of the insurance certificate and the policy booklet should be provided so that the ‘for any one occurrence or series of occurrences arising out of the same event’ cover can be confirmed.

Insurance type

Public Liability

Required level:

£10 million for any one occurrence or series of occurrences arising out of the same event. 

Required for:

Required for all suppliers. This MUST be held for your legal entity e.g., in your name as an individual sole trader/partnership (in addition your trading name may be included) or in the name of your limited company.

Employer’s Liability

Required level:

£10 million for any one occurrence or series of occurrences arising out of the same event.

Required for:

Required for all suppliers who employ staff. This must be held for your legal entity e.g., in your name as an individual sole trader/partnership (in addition your trading name may be included) or in the name of your limited company.

Motor Vehicle Insurance

Required level:

Unlimited liability in respect of death or bodily injury to third parties, including passengers, and £5 million for liability in respect of loss of, or damage to property for any one occurrence or series of occurrences arising out of the same event.

Please note, if you operate Public Bus contracts or use a double decker vehicle, you must hold an insurance policy which covers you for £10 million for liability in respect of loss of, or damage to property for any one occurrence or series of occurrences arising out of the same event. (except for services operated under a Section 22 permit).

Required for:

Required for all suppliers who operate any vehicles. Motor Vehicle insurance policies (where the vehicles covered by the policy are owned by the organisation and not an individual driver) must also be held in your legal entity name e.g., in your name as an individual sole trader/partnership (in addition your trading name may be included) or in the name of your limited company.

Motor Contingent Liability

Required level:

Minimum £5 million.

Minimum £10 million for suppliers who operate Public Bus contracts or use a double decker vehicle to deliver a contract (except for services operated under a Section 22 permit).

Required for:

This is required if you use owner drivers to deliver transport contracts, i.e., employees or self-employed drivers using their own vehicles covered by their own insurance policies. This must be held for your legal entity e.g., in your name as an individual sole trader/partnership (in addition your trading name may be included) or in the name of your limited company. This can be included as an extension to a Public Liability or Motor Insurance policy.

Medical Malpractice insurance

Required level:

Minimum £2 million.

Required for:

CQC regulated suppliers only.

Download a copy of the Hampshire County Councils Insurance Requirements for DPS Suppliers

To upload your documents onto intend, simply “log in” to your intend account, go to ‘Company Details’ and select the ‘Documents’ tab. Go to ‘Upload Company documents’ section, select the ‘type of document’ you wish to upload, enter the ‘expiry date’, and ‘upload your document’. Please see the guidance.

Once your insurance documents have been uploaded onto your In-Tend account, let us know that they are there for us to view by emailing [email protected]

Information on previous Dynamic Purchasing Systems
Service updates
Contact the Procurement Support Team

If you have any technical queries relating to In-Tend, please direct these to the Procurement Support Team at [email protected].

If you have any questions relating to a DPS application or specific tender, please submit these to us via the In-Tend correspondence function.

Contact the School Transport Service

If you are an operator with a query about an existing school transport contract/route, complete the online enquiry form.