East Riding Council awards £4.1m of taxi transport work across 76 school and SEND routes

# What happened East Riding of Yorkshire Council has issued procurement awards totalling £4,101,053 (excluding VAT) for 76 home-to-school and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) transport routes. The contracts were split between 28 suppliers, including established limited companies and smaller local taxi and passenger-transport providers.

# How it was procured

# What the awards cover Procurement classifications tied to the awards include taxi services, special-purpose road passenger transport and hire of passenger cars with a driver. Individual contract values vary significantly to reflect different route lengths, passenger needs and specialist transport requirements for SEND passengers.

# How this fits previous activity Riding procurements in 2026. In January the council awarded routes worth £3,393,700 (excluding VAT) covering 17 home-to-school and 41 SEND routes. In April a further award covered four home-to-school and 21 SEND routes with a reported combined value of £1,370,881. Taken together, those earlier exercises plus the September awards show a continuing programme of school and SEND transport contracting by the council.

# Why this matters to taxi and private hire operators The DPS structure and the split across 28 suppliers mean this round of awards represents a substantial tranche of contracted work for the local passenger-transport market beyond street-hail and consumer bookings. Suppliers engaged on these contracts will operate to fixed school schedules and, for SEND work, may need to meet specialist transport and accessibility requirements.

# Concrete implications for suppliers and councils

• Suppliers: Winning operators gain predictable contracted work but must meet specified service and regulatory conditions. The range of contract sizes suggests opportunities for both larger fleet operators and smaller local providers.
• Council services: Awarding multiple routes across several suppliers can spread risk and capacity but requires contract management to ensure continuity, cost control and suitability for passengers with additional needs.

# Bottom line East Riding's latest awards allocate a significant package of school and SEND transport work via the council's Passenger Transport DPS. The division across many suppliers and the continued use of the DPS signal ongoing contracting opportunities for licensed taxi and private hire businesses in the area.