Stagecoach East has reacted quickly to refute suggestions from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) that it had ‘withdrawn all of its winning bids to run the final seven precept-funded bus services,’ reports Steven Knight. The seven Tiger-branded supported services were due to start in November last year and on 8 January the CPCA said that “In response to news that a bus operator – [which] cannot be named for legal reasons – has withdrawn all of its winning bids.” Less than 24 hours later Stagecoach East confirmed that it was the ‘unnamed operator’ and that it had not been aware of the planned announcement by the CPCA.
The CPCA said that as a result of the withdrawn bids, “the tendering process for the remaining seven routes – covering places including Peterborough, Cambridge, Ely, Huntingdon, Wisbech and surrounding villages – now has to start again.”
Contracts are now not expected to launch until May for the seven services which comprise:
Tiger 1 – Huntingdon to Cambridge Tiger 2/3 – Cambridge North and South connections
Tiger 4/5 – Soham to Cambridge and Newmarket to Cambridge Tiger 7 – Chatteris to Wisbech Tiger 9 – Peterborough Orbital
Refuting suggestions that it had walked away from the deal, Stagecoach East said it was “saddened to be made aware of a press release talking about an unnamed bus operator who has withdrawn its bids for new Tiger bus routes. We have not withdrawn from the tender process, the decision to retender the routes was taken by the CPCA.”
Stagecoach says that it had identified inconsistencies in the award letter which had caused several delays in the conclusion of the contract and the company had worked at pace with the CPCA to try and resolve these.
“These delays and then the subsequent Government announcement on the National Insurance (NI) increase (which pushed up significantly the cost of provision) meant we asked for an increase in the tender prices to be considered. We also identified concerns over the legality of operating a tendered service where a commercial one exists.” Managing Director of Stagecoach East Darren Roe added: “We remain committed to working with CPCA to deliver more bus services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough but need the time and clarity in the procurement process to do this.” In response to a question from CBW he confirmed: “We definitely would bid for the routes again.”
The issues quoted by Stagecoach were raised in Parliament on 9 January by Conservative MP for Huntington Ben Obese-Jecty, who asked: “Does the Secretary of State share my concern that bus services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are not being managed effectively by the Labour mayor?”
In response, Secretary of Stage for Transport Heidi Alexander MP responded: “I am happy to speak further with the hon. gentleman about his concerns regarding local bus services. I know how critical bus services are for young people wanting to get to school, people wanting to get to work and older people wanting to access vital lifeline services. I am happy to meet him to talk in more detail about his local concerns.”
