The City Council of Vigo has provisionally halted the ongoing tender for the new municipal bus contract. The announcement appeared on 28 September 2026 on the Plataforma de Contratación del Sector Público. The project, estimated at around €470 million, is considered the city’s largest single contract. The notice says the documents submitted by bidders are so complex that the companies need to provide further clarifications. The city gave no date for resuming the process.
Vigo has been preparing the procurement process since 2025. According to the tender documents, technical analyses of demand and the future network design were already produced in 2023 and 2024. Local media reported that several major transport companies took part in the process in spring 2026, including the incumbent operator Vitrasa. Opposition representatives at the town hall had repeatedly raised concerns about delays and a lack of clarity during the year.
Immediately after the announcement was published, the spokesperson for the Partido Popular in the City Council called for an extraordinary meeting. She accused the administration of a lack of transparency and referred to indications that there could be an investigation into possible anti-competitive agreements. The Bloque Nacionalista Galego criticised the brief explanation, saying it increased legal uncertainty and made the procurement file vulnerable to challenge. On Monday, the city administration provided no further explanation beyond the notice on the procurement platform.
A suspension is legally possible where unclear points or formal defects prevent the evaluation of bids. However, the contracting authority must document its reasons and next steps clearly. The notice states that bidders’ explanations must first be obtained. It remains unclear whether the tender documents will also need to be amended.
In practical terms, the halt means that the planned reorganisation and modernisation of Vigo’s bus network will not progress for the time being. As long as the procurement procedure is on hold, announced changes to route services, fleet modernisation or fares cannot be implemented. For unsuccessful or excluded bidders, the risk—and the appeal of seeking a review—increases if the city later changes its assessments or documents. It is also unclear how long the current interim arrangement with Vitrasa will have to continue and whether it will incur additional costs for the municipality. No updated timetable or new milestones have Ayuntamiento de Vigo been published so far.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).