Terms and Conditions

These terms govern access to the RouteBids website and use of an invited RouteBids workspace. RouteBids is an independent software service for sealed passenger-transport tendering, operated by IYDR Ltd. Company registration details are not published until the contracting entity is verified. RouteBids is not a council, procurement authority or contracting decision-maker, and it does not award, broker or guarantee any contract.

They apply to website visitors and invited council and provider users. The final published version must identify the legal operator, approved version and effective date before it takes effect. A signed subscription, order form, pilot or other written agreement (a “Signed Agreement”) may add or vary commercial terms and takes priority over these terms if there is a conflict.

By using the website or a workspace after these terms take effect, or by accepting them where prompted, the user agrees to them on their own behalf and on behalf of the organisation they represent, and confirms they are authorised to do so.

• “Council” means the local authority or other contracting organisation operating a council workspace.
• “Provider” means an organisation invited to submit sealed tenders for route opportunities.
• “Workspace” means the separated, role-controlled area assigned to a council or provider.
• “Sealed Submission” means a provider tender that remains confidential until it is formally opened under the platform's controlled opening process.
• “Signed Agreement” means the order form, subscription, pilot or other written contract agreed with the RouteBids operator.

• Workspace access is by invitation only. Users must provide accurate account information, keep credentials confidential, use any required multi-factor authentication and promptly report suspected unauthorised access to support@routebids.co.uk.
• Users may act only within the workspace, organisation and role assigned to them. Authentication, permissions, tenant separation and account status may restrict, suspend or end access.
• An invitation, verified email address or provider account does not constitute provider approval, accreditation or pre-qualification, and creates no right to receive work and no expectation of any award.
• Each organisation is responsible for the acts and omissions of its users and for keeping its user list current, including removing departed staff without delay.

Subject to these terms and any Signed Agreement, the RouteBids operator grants each authorised user a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable right to access and use the service for the internal business purpose of administering, submitting or evaluating passenger-transport tenders.

No other right is granted. Users must not copy, adapt, reverse engineer, scrape, resell, sublicense, frame or create derivative works from the service or its software except to the extent the law expressly permits.

• Providers may submit and revise their own confidential tender while an opportunity remains open. A provider can see only its own submissions and cannot see competitors, competitor prices or rankings.
• Council users cannot see tender prices until the original deadline has passed, the tender has been closed and sealed bids have been formally opened under the recorded opening process.
• The latest eligible provider submission is used for evaluation. Price comparisons are an administrative aid only; each council remains solely responsible for its procurement criteria, evaluation, compliance with applicable procurement law and the decision to award.
• Submissions, revisions, openings, evaluations and awards are recorded in the platform's audit history, which may be used to evidence the conduct of the tender process.

• Do not enter passenger names, full residential addresses, unnecessary personal details or provider licensing and insurance records.
• Use a council-assigned passenger reference, postcode-level pickup and drop-off information, planned times and only the operational or accessibility information genuinely needed to price the route.
• The council remains responsible for having an appropriate lawful basis, minimising the information entered and keeping any separate passenger-identification key outside RouteBids.
• The RouteBids operator may restrict or remove content that breaches these rules and will notify the responsible workspace where reasonably practicable.

• Use RouteBids only for authorised passenger-transport tendering, administration, evaluation and related service enquiries.
• Do not attempt to reveal sealed or competing-provider information, bypass security, authentication or tenant controls, test or probe the service without written authorisation, impersonate another person or organisation, interfere with or overload the service, introduce malicious code, or falsify, backdate or tamper with tender and audit records.
• Report suspected security vulnerabilities responsibly to support@routebids.co.uk; do not exploit them or disclose them publicly before they are resolved.

Public prices are guide prices only. Sending an enquiry does not create a subscription, an account or a contract. Fees, payment terms, implementation, renewal, support and service levels are governed by the Signed Agreement. VAT is applied as follows: not VAT-registered at the date of publication.

The initial contract term is the monthly or annual term stated in the signed agreement, renewing automatically where that agreement provides for it, and cancellation or non-renewal notice is at least 30 days' written notice.

The RouteBids operator may maintain, update, improve or temporarily restrict the service for security, reliability, capacity or legal reasons, and will use reasonable endeavours to schedule planned maintenance so as to limit disruption to open tenders.

Any contractual availability target, support hours and response times are as stated in the Signed Agreement; the service is otherwise provided on a reasonable-endeavours basis.

Access may be suspended or restricted immediately where reasonably necessary to protect accounts, confidential tender information, another workspace, the integrity of a live tender or the service itself, or where required by law. Where practicable, the affected organisation will be told the reason and the steps needed to restore access.

When the applicable Signed Agreement ends, workspace access ends with it. Provisions which by their nature should survive — including confidentiality, audit-record integrity, liability and governing law — continue to apply.

The service, its software, design, branding and documentation remain the property of the RouteBids operator or its licensors. Tender content entered by a council or provider remains the property of that organisation, which grants the operator a limited licence to host and process it solely to provide the service.

Feedback and suggestions may be used to improve the service without obligation, provided no confidential tender information is disclosed in doing so.

Each party must keep the other's confidential information — including sealed tender values before formal opening — confidential, use it only for the purposes of the service and protect it with at least reasonable care.

This obligation does not apply to information that is public through no fault of the recipient, was already lawfully known, was independently developed, or must be disclosed by law or a regulator, provided (where lawful) prompt notice is given.

Personal information is handled as described in the RouteBids Privacy Policy and, where applicable, in the data-processing terms of the Signed Agreement. Each council remains responsible for its own controller obligations for the route information it enters.

RouteBids provides tender-administration software. It does not provide legal, procurement or financial advice, and no output of the service — including price comparisons and reports — constitutes a recommendation to award.

Except as expressly stated in these terms or a Signed Agreement, the service is provided without further warranties, and all conditions, warranties and terms implied by law are excluded to the maximum extent permitted.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

Subject to the paragraph above: neither party is liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for loss of profit, revenue, anticipated savings, goodwill or data; each council remains responsible for its procurement process, information, criteria, evaluation and award; and the aggregate liability of each party in connection with the service is limited to the total fees paid for the service in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.

Material changes are versioned, recorded in the change log and, where required, must be accepted before continued use of a workspace. The version and effective date shown with this document identify the edition that applies.

Service and support enquiries may be sent to support@routebids.co.uk. Formal contractual notices must be sent to the notice address stated in the signed agreement.

These terms and any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with them are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.