Provision of a College Bus Service

Royal Holloway, University of London is seeking Contractors to operate a College Bus Service for staff and students. This service needs to be reliable, punctual and professional. The current services are: Route 1. This runs to and from the Egham mainline train station, main campus and a halls of residence 2 miles away. Monday to Friday the service operates approximately every half hour. At weekends this is reduced to approximately every hour. Monday to Friday the service is currently provided by two single-decker buses. At weekends the service is provided by one single-decker bus. Monday to Friday a typical loop mileage per journey is around 6 miles/ 200 miles daily or 29,600 miles annually. At weekends, the bus travels around 75.5 miles daily or 8461.5 miles annually. An element of this journey is charged, for which the Contractor collects money on behalf of the College Route 2. This runs between Egham mainline train station, main campus and an off-site location ½ a mile from main campus. This is currently serviced by one Minibus. The service operates all year round, on a Monday to Friday basis approximately every twenty minutes. A typical loop mileage per journey is around 2.1 miles/ 54.71 miles daily or 13,458.66 miles annually. There may be the opportunity to provide additional services for around 20 weekend excursions, 8 Annual Visitor Days/ Open Days and any ad-hoc or other requirements for which transport is required. A private developer is building a large complex of student rooms next to the Halls of Residence serviced by Route 1. The complex shall be comprised of some 450 to 500 rooms which shall be offered to second year, third year and post-graduate students to rent. It is due for completion in September 2018 and an additional public bus stop is being built in front of it. Although this private development is not part of the College Estate, its proximity to Royal Holloway's Halls, could lead to an increase in the number of students looking to travel on the Route 1 college bus. For this reason, the College is looking for suppliers who could potentially increase the service capacity in year 2 onwards, if it is required. Bidders should be aware that the TUPE regulations may apply to this Contract. The Contract is for 5 years, with an option to extend for a further two years, to a maximum of seven years.