Source: https://tendernation.io/opportunities/01a13bdd-e89b-70fe-9528-e10d0f24eb3a/003415-preliminary-market-engagement-pme-for-digital-bus-passes-home-to-sch pending GB open procedure # 003415 - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) for Digital Bus Passes (Home to School Transport) [Durham County Council](https://tendernation.io/buyers/durham-county-council) Estimated value Not stated Published 12 May 2026 Deadline Rolling deadline ## Who can bid - Below-threshold contract Buyers cannot shortlist bidders on suitability before tenders are in, so everyone gets to submit a bid (except some larger works contracts). [Procurement Act 2023, section 85](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/section/85) - Open procedure Anyone can submit a full tender; there is no shortlisting stage. ## About this tender Durham County Council (DCC) are looking to explore a digital alternative to physical Home to School Transport bus passes to reduce costs, improve efficiency, strengthen fraud controls, and enhance user experience. The Council currently issues 7,000 physical passes involving manual processing, printing, and posting. This creates delays, requires high admin effort, and offers limited real-time visibility over eligibility, pass status, and usage. We are engaging the market to understand available digital solutions, technologies, and indicative costs to inform a future business case. ### Scope - Digital bus passes via mobile devices. - Verification (visual/scannable) including offline options. - Real‑time activation/deactivation. - Technical capability to interface with other digital systems eg. Flexiroute. - Fraud‑prevention features. - Hybrid digital/physical options for users who are digitally excluded. - Pass lifecycle management, including issuing, suspension, reinstatement, replacement, expiry, and renewal where applicable. - Support for policy‑driven business rules (e.g. eligibility changes or temporary entitlement). This notice forms part of our preliminary market engagement, offering you the opportunity to share feedback and comments before the opportunity is released for formal tender submissions. Interested providers can access the written response questions, free of charge, by registering on the Open Portal at [open-uk.org](https://www.open-uk.org) The deadline for completed responses is Friday 29th May 2026 at 12 noon. Read full description ## CPV classification Industry specific software package Source Find a Tender (UK) · Notice ocds-h6vhtk-06966d-2026-05-12T10:34:25+01:00 [View official notice](https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/ocds-h6vhtk-06966d-2026-05-12T10:34:25+01:00) Never miss a tender like this again Get AI summaries, deadline alerts and a bid pipeline for tenders matched to your business. Free to start. [Track tenders free](https://tendernation.io/register) [Buyer profile Durham County Council: past awards and live tenders](https://tendernation.io/buyers/durham-county-council) [Sector More Software packages & information systems tenders](https://tendernation.io/sectors/software-information-systems) ## More tenders like this [Software package and information systems – Smart život a služby v meste Liptovský Mikuláš · Mesto Liptovský Mikuláš · 22 days left · 10 Nov 2026](https://tendernation.io/opportunities/01a156a9-8b56-73a0-8eb6-a47a2de359b0/slovakia-software-package-and-information-systems-smart-zivot-a-sluzby-v-mes) [Servers – Dodávka Cisco Catalyst Center · Ústav organické chemie a biochemie AV ČR, v. v. i. · 32 days left · 20 Nov 2026](https://tendernation.io/opportunities/01a156a9-9f50-7023-a3e7-14aa2b5fbe03/czechia-servers-dodavka-cisco-catalyst-center) [Software package and information systems – System wykrywania anomalii w ruchu SMTP w oparciu o Self-Learning AI · Narodowy Bank Polski · 31 days left · 19 Nov 2026](https://tendernation.io/opportunities/01a156a9-6291-7294-b080-d589aa9cf0c0/poland-software-package-and-information-systems-system-wykrywania-anomalii-w) [Software package and information systems – AutoDesk Lizenzen · Hamburger Energienetze GmbH · 25 days left · 13 Nov 2026](https://tendernation.io/opportunities/01a156a9-63e1-72f3-8854-0907e37f21fa/germany-software-package-and-information-systems-autodesk-lizenzen) [IT software package – Dostawa pakietów subskrypcji Microsoft albo pakietów równoważnych · Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy Główny Inspektorat Pracy · 36 days left · 24 Nov 2026](https://tendernation.io/opportunities/01a156a9-98e4-702f-a918-9b94f1198862/poland-it-software-package-dostawa-pakietow-subskrypcji-microsoft-albo-pakie) [Servers – Ausschreibung CITRIX Wartungsverlängerung ab 2027 · Hannoversche Informationstechnologien AöR / hannIT · 4 days left · 23 Oct 2026](https://tendernation.io/opportunities/01a156a9-615c-713f-93e6-da09a76b2c98/germany-servers-ausschreibung-citrix-wartungsverlangerung-ab-2027)