Durham University organises a variety of student field trips, airport travel and Sports Club travel to a wide range of destinations from the surrounding local area, to as far north as the Isle of Skye and as far south as Exeter throughout the academic year. The requirements of each booking varies according to the individual needs of the trip and its travellers.
The University is looking for tenders to support the supply of its Coach and Mini Bus needs. Looking at spend analysis, Durham University has spent on average £310,000 per annum in hiring coaches and mini buses over the last 3 financial years.
The main objective of the contract is to provide a high quality transport service for staff, students and visitors within the University. The key considerations include, but not limited to, health & safety of all passengers, reliability and flexibility of service, staff, student, and visitor satisfaction, and promoting positive relations with the wider community.
In addition to the above, we are striving to appoint operators who can demonstrate capability in helping us meet our duty of care to our staff and students. The University expects that the successful operators will have a duty of care when carrying passengers and it is essential that passenger safety and passenger care are the top priority for operators to follow.
We are aiming to put together a framework agreement for coach and mini bus hire with a small number of operators so that we can work with coach operators, and increase the possibilities of creating better working relationships between the University and coach operators.
Lot 1 - General Coach and Mini-bus Hire
This lot is to facilitate the transport needs of Durham University's student sports teams (Team Durham) who travel far and wide for sporting fixtures. It is intended that Lot 2a and Lot 2b will be awarded to a single supplier (not necessarily the same supplier) for the duration of the contract term. Where additional requirements are needed and the appointed supplier is unable to fulfil this request, suppliers appointed to Lot 1 will be approached to fulfil the booking.
To fulfil these requirements the university require coaches and mini buses to transport Team Durham to and from various sporting events that are held over the academic year usually between October and March.
The coach sizes will vary from 8 to 57 seats. On occasion more than one vehicle maybe required per event.
Unless otherwise stated on a given journey, the start and end points will be The Sports and Wellbeing Park, Maiden Castle, Stockton Road, Durham, DH1 3SE. Some destinations may have multiple drop off points, this will be confirmed in the schedule at the beginning of each academic year.
The initial pick up time is usually around 7 am however this will be confirmed.
Team Durham may need to have additional dates added if the team make it to any finals.
This Lot is to fulfil bookings for longer distance sports team fixtures currently for the following teams:
Men's Rugby
Women's Rugby
Hockey Teams
Cricket Team
As these journeys are longer the university need to ensure the well-being of their students during this time is taken into account. The successful supplier's coaches should have areas available where students are able to rest and study during travel times. This means there are certain facilities required on the coaches as standard as part of this lot. These requirements are as follows:
Fully Fitted Kitchen
Microwave
Fridges on both upper and lower deck
Separate seating area on lower desk
Tables to enable study on the move
All seats should recline and should be fitted with seat-belts as standard
Tea / Coffee Facilities
Toilet and Wash Facilities
DVD Player with LCD repeater screens
Unless otherwise stated on a given journey, the start and end points will be The Sports and Well-being Park, Maiden Castle, Stockton Road, Durham, DH1 3SE. Some destinations may have multiple drop off points, this will be confirmed in the schedule for the forthcoming year.
Team Durham may need to have additional dates added if the team make it to any finals, these will be confirmed as soon as they are available.
This lot is to enable the transportation of international students to the Durham Campus. This lot will be awarded to a single operator for the duration of the contract to ensure continuity.
In normal non-Covid circumstances the University welcomes a large intake of overseas students. These students arrive into Newcastle Airport and the University operates a Meet and Greet service. Students who are required to complete one of the 2 pre-sessional language courses will normally arrive on a Saturday in both mid-July and mid-August. Students who are not required to attend language courses will normally arrive on a Wednesday and Thursday in late September immediately prior to Induction Week.
In 2020, as a response to the Covid Pandemic there was a requirement for students to quarantine and there were limited flights available which meant that arrival arrangements had to be adapted. Pre-sessional language students were not required to arrive early and instead studied online. The main arrival period was mid-September to mid-October with the Meet and Greet service was offered across 9 days from Newcastle Airport. In addition, over a similar time period, the University chartered flights into Manchester Airport and coaches were required for pick up there.
At present it is not clear how Covid will impact on arrivals in 2021 and thereafter. The period for arrivals is not currently determined nor is it clear as to whether the meet and greet Services will be offered from both Newcastle and Manchester Airports.
Under normal circumstances the University operates a meet and greet service for two different categories of students:
Pre-sessional Students - these are overseas students who are attending pre-term language courses prior to the autumn term. If the pre-sessional students are arriving early then the University will require coaches and trailers on 2 Saturdays, one in mid-July and one in mid-August from Newcastle Airport; if this is not the case then these students will form part of the main Autumn Arrival.
Autumn Arrivals - this is for the start of the main academic year and students will usually arrive in late September prior to Induction Week; in 2021 this will be Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd September. However, depending on Covid restrictions, coaches, trailers and minibuses may be required over a 4 week period (as in 2020), a shorter period or the normal 2 days from Newcastle Airport and possibly from Manchester Airport as well.