Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

Tender description

To provide a park and ride transportation service within Canterbury. The current contract expires on 4 October 2020. All attempts have been made by the contracting authority to procure a new contract. However, due to COVID-19: — organisations normally tendering for this kind of contract and providing these services and — the reduction in the uptake of the current park and ride services and offer of park and ride services due to the ‘stay home, stay safe’ guidance from Government for the foreseeable future have required for the contracting authority to reconsider its initial timetable for the procurement. The contracting authority sought tenderers views, on the Kent Business Portal, on whether they would be able to tender for the contract opportunity under the initially proposed timetable or would require additional time. Responses received led to the contracting authority’s decision to amend the timetable for the procurement of the new park and ride contract which has been published on the Kent Business Portal. Giving tenderers further time to tender for this contract opportunity has meant that the new contract will not be in place on 5 October 2020 thereby making it necessary for the current contract to be modified. It is the contracting authority’s intention to arrange for Park and Ride Services from the current Operator, East Kent Road Car Company Limited t/a Stagecoach in East Kent for the period of 5 October 2020 up to and including the time when the new contract for park and ride services has been procured. The Council envisages this to be in February or March 2021. Therefore, the modification of the current park and ride contract will be from 5 October 2020 to February 2021 with the possibility of extending the same to March 2021 to cater for any aftermath of COVID-19 and in order to ensure that any new Government guidelines are taken into account.