Provision of Coach & Minibus Services

The University of Southampton currently utilises coach and minibus services to carry staff, students and visitors to and from various locations both local to the University in Hampshire and further afield nationally.

Requirement:

Lot 1 is for the provision of Coach & Minibus Hire Services - The University requires an efficient and cost effective transport service (to include driver) to transport students (namely undergraduates and school pupils) and staff to various locations throughout the United Kingdom. The transport is for various sized vehicles of eight passengers or more. The collection and drop-off locations will vary dependent upon the requirements of individual departments. Some journeys will be ad-hoc whereas others will be required on a regular basis with the majority of these journeys taking place within the vicinity of the Southampton or Winchester area. This service would also need to provide for journeys across the southern region of the UK in rarer circumstances where the collection point or destination point would be in Southampton, Winchester or the surrounding area. The University is conducting this procurement using the Open procedure in accordance with the requirements of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) for the purpose of procuring the services described in the Specification. It is envisaged that there will be no more than seven suppliers awarded a place on Lot 1.Successful suppliers may be awarded a place on one or both lots in accordance with the published award criteria. Tenderers awarded a place on Lot 1 of the Framework Agreement will be the seven highest scoring in accordance with the published award criteria. The number of Suppliers will be based on the top seven percentage scores in accordance with the published award criteria. Where less than seven Tenderers submit a compliant Tender return, only those Tenderers may be awarded a place on the Framework Agreement.Where more than seven Tenderers submit a compliant Tender return (i.e. a tie), all Tenderers achieving a top seven score would be awarded a place on the Framework Agreement. The University proposes to enter into a Framework Agreement for four years. This will be the maximum Framework Agreement period including any potential extensions with the successful tenderers. This will comprise of an initial Framework Agreement period of two years with an option to extend by a further two, twelve month periods at the discretion of theUniversity. The estimated value of the initial two year Framework Agreement term for Lot 1 is in the region of £660,000 GBP (excluding VAT). The estimated value of the two, one year extension periods is £660,000 GBP (excluding VAT). It is estimated, therefore, that the total value of this Lot will be in the region of £1,320,000 GBP (excluding VAT).

Lot 2 is for the provision of International Student Collection Services - The University requires a high quality, efficient, well-organised and cost effective transport service

Additional information: E-Tendering Portal: The University is utilising an electronic tendering tool, In-Tend (https://intendhost.co.uk/ universityofsouthampton) to manage this procurement and to communicate with potential suppliers and/or tenderers (as appropriate). All documentation in relation to this tender can be downloaded from In-Tend. Potential suppliers/tenderers are advised that there will be no hard copy documents issued and all communications with the University, including the submission of Selection Stage and/or Invitation to Tender responses will be conducted via In-Tend. Regular monitoring of the portal is the responsibility of the potential supplier/tenderer. If you are not already registered as a supplier with the University of Southampton, you will need to register in In- Tend in order to access the procurement documentation. Once you have logged in as a supplier: click on 'Tenders'; locate the relevant project; and click 'View Details'.Once you are in the project screen, you will be able to register your organisation against the project and access all documentation by clicking 'Express Interest'. Potential suppliers/tenderers are advised that formal expressions of interest in the project must be by way of completion and return of the relevant documents via In-Tend. Please note that dates and information on Intend will take precedence over any information on Contracts Finder. Further instructions for the submission of responses are below: To submit your return: 1. Log in 2. Click 'Tenders' 3. Locate the relevant project 4. View details 5. Click on the tab relating to the relevant project stage (e.g. 'Invitation to Tender') 6. Click on the 'Attach Documents' button and upload your return. 7. Check ALL your response documents are uploaded and displayed in the 'My Tender Return' panel. The system will only permit your organisation to make one return. 8. Click the red 'Submit Return' button. Please note, to preserve the integrity of the procurement, all communications with the University must be made via the correspondence function within In-Tend.

Publication of Award Details: In accordance with Regulation 50, paragraph (2) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and subject to Article 5 and Annex 5, Part D (13) of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (if applicable), the University intends to publish the value of any resulting Framework Agreement at the award stage, and reserves the right to do so. By submitting a response, potential suppliers/tenderers are consenting to publication of this information unless otherwise agreed in advance with the University. Costs and Expenses: Potential suppliers/tenderers are solely responsible for their costs and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation and submission of responses and participation in this and all future