Cambridgeshire and Peterborough bus franchising moves closer

Introduction of bus franchising in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough now looks inevitable after the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) Transport and Infrastructure Committee voted unanimously on 24 January to recommend it to Mayor Dr Nik Johnson as the avenue for reform.

Ahead of the meeting, CPCA’s response report to the bus reform consultation was released. That work drew 1,653 responses. 1,468 included an answer to whether franchising is opposed or supported. 63% either strongly support or tend to support the proposals.

Dr Johnson will decide on 6 February whether franchising or Enhanced Partnership proceeds. If he follows the Committee’s recommendation, CPCA will “move quickly to a programme of implementation over the coming months, in addition to pursuing interim agreements to improve bus operation and support investment.”

As part of that, it will “continue its engagement and benchmarking with colleagues at [the] Greater Manchester [Combined Authority] as its new bus franchising scheme is rolled out.” Other Mayoral Combined Authorities and areas such as Jersey, Kent via Fastrack bus rapid transit work, and the Netherlands are also cited as points of reference.

Franchise contracts are expected to be awarded for periods of up to seven or eight years, with potential to extend them by up to two years for ‘good behaviour’.

The consultation response report notes that the proposed franchising scheme “will look to share risks and responsibilities with operators” by incentivising them to grow usage “and benefit from increasing revenue.”

Documents show that under planned lotting strategy, there will be opportunities for SMEs to negotiate “subcontracting arrangements with large operators to provide services [that] form part of the overall service requirement within large lots.” CPCA also believes that small lots will be attractive to SME bidders.

That is contained within a report detailing how SME involvement in the proposed franchising scheme will be facilitated. Papers published ahead of the 24 January meeting list several changes to the franchising plans following the consultation, including work with the CPCA Growth Hub so it “can make available to all SME operators a toolkit to assist them.”

Home-to-school services are to remain outside that reregulation work, but CPCA previously said that “opportunities for coordination in this area could be more easily sought under franchising.”

SME operator responses to the consultation largely oppose franchising. Delaine Buses and Stephensons of Essex make clear that they are wholly against reregulation, while Dews Coaches says that its position is “tend to oppose.” Whippet strongly supports the plans, as it has previously said.

Delaine believes that franchising is not the right approach “for a shire county,” although it acknowledges that Greater Cambridge is now akin to a large conurbation.

The Bourne business is another small operator to call franchising “an existential threat” to SMEs, although Delaine’s response notes that its main focus is on Lincolnshire. Its routes between that county and Peterborough are listed as being exempt from CPCA franchising in a scheme draft.

Stephensons’ acknowledges that bus services in the CPCA area face challenges but says that many of those “will not be solved by franchising.” Congestion, bus infrastructure and road space allocation, and low-cost car parking all require “serious political will to address.”

The operator instead supports Enhanced Partnership. It describes franchising as “extremely risky, with a highly uncertain and unfunded price tag.” Stephensons adds that “there is no clear evidence that the Combined Authority has the resources, skills or finance to deliver all the changes necessary.”

In a further rebuke, the response claims that there are “several dubious assumptions” in the CPCA economic case for franchising and that the business case has “glossed over” the impact on passengers that make journeys to and from adjoining areas.

Stephensons also cites a need for lots of suitable sizes, simplified tendering requirements, avoidance of unrealistic vehicle or mobilisation requirements, and realism around electrification as aspects that must be considered in-depth for SMEs.

Among other operator respondents to the consultation, Transdev strongly supports the franchising proposals. First Bus, Go-Ahead and Transport UK tend to support. Stagecoach East neither supports nor opposes but will work with CPCA regardless of the approach chosen.