Greater Manchester Bus Franchising - Passport Process

General In accordance with the provisions of the Transport Act 2000 (as amended by the Bus Services Act 2017) and having followed the legislative procedure set out within the same, the Mayor of Greater Manchester decided on 25th March 2021 to introduce a bus franchising scheme for the entire Greater Manchester Combined Authority ('GMCA') area. The GMCA will be the contracting entity and the bus franchising scheme will be overseen and managed by Transport for Greater Manchester ('TfGM'), including the procurement of franchise operators, on behalf of the GMCA. Passport System TfGM has established a Passport System by which Potential Suppliers can pre-qualify so that they can bid for Greater Manchester Bus Franchises. Potential Suppliers who wish to apply to become a Passport Holder are required to provide a submission in accordance with the Passport Selection Questionnaire, and should do so with reference to the Passport Process Document which provides further detail on the application process and requirements. These can be found on the Pro-Contract E-Tendering portal (https://procontract.due-north.com/register) For the avoidance of doubt, only those potential Suppliers who have successfully obtained a Passport (and therefore become a Passport Holder) will qualify to participate in the subsequent stages of the procurement. To successfully qualify a potential Supplier must achieve the criteria set out in the Passport Selection Questionnaire.