By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.
Accept
routeonerouteonerouteone
  • News
    • Show all
    • Awards & Events
    • Deliveries
    • Environment
    • Exhibitor News
    • Euro Bus Expo 2024
    • Features
    • Legal
    • Minibus and minicoach
    • Operators
    • Opinion
    • People
    • Suppliers
    • Vehicles
  • Vehicles
    • Find a Vehicle
    • ZEV Comparison Tool
    • Sell a Vehicle
    • Vehicle Seller Dashboard
  • Insights
  • Careers
  • Events
    • British Tourism & Travel Show
    • Euro Bus Expo
    • Innovation Challenge
    • Livery Competition
    • routeone Awards
  • Advertise
  • Contact
    • Share your news
    • Subscribe
    • Update Subscription Details
  • Latest Issue
  • SIGN UP
Search
© 2024 routeone News. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Go-Ahead wins initial Manchester large bus franchises
Share
Font ResizerAa
routeonerouteone
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • News
    • Show all
    • Awards & Events
    • Deliveries
    • Environment
    • Exhibitor News
    • Euro Bus Expo 2024
    • Features
    • Legal
    • Minibus and minicoach
    • Operators
    • Opinion
    • People
    • Suppliers
    • Vehicles
  • Vehicles
    • Find a Vehicle
    • ZEV Comparison Tool
    • Sell a Vehicle
    • Vehicle Seller Dashboard
  • Insights
  • Careers
  • Events
    • British Tourism & Travel Show
    • Euro Bus Expo
    • Innovation Challenge
    • Livery Competition
    • routeone Awards
  • Advertise
  • Contact
    • Share your news
    • Subscribe
    • Update Subscription Details
  • Latest Issue
  • SIGN UP
Follow US
© 2024 routeone News | Powered by Diversified Business Communications UK Ltd
- Advertisement -
-
routeone > Bus > Go-Ahead wins initial Manchester large bus franchises
BusBus re-regulationNewsOperatorsTop Story

Go-Ahead wins initial Manchester large bus franchises

Tim Deakin
Tim Deakin
Published: December 24, 2022
Share
Go-Ahead subsidiary Go North West wins first two large Greater Manchester bus franchises
SHARE

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has awarded both large bus franchises tendered via the first round of service reregulation in the region to Go-Ahead Group subsidiary Go North West (GNW). They capture Bolton and Wigan respectively and will begin on 24 September 2023 as part of the wider integrated Bee Network aspiration.

Contents
GNW ‘saw off eight others’ for Manchester large bus franchisesPerformance-related payments in Manchester bus franchisesAbove market value return for Rotala on Bolton assets

GNW will displace current principal operators Diamond Bus North West (DBNW) in Bolton and Stagecoach Manchester in Wigan. The two awards will involve 750 employees, over 300 buses and 55 routes. It is understood that the flagship Vantage services, which use the Leigh guided busway and are currently operated by First Manchester, are included.

While Rotala subsidiary DBNW will relinquish its Bolton depot, it has concurrently won seven of the nine small franchises tendered in the first round. Those will operate in Bolton, Bury, Farnworth, Leigh, Salford and Wigan and represent annual revenue of around £18.7m, the group says. The winner(s) of the other two small franchises have not yet been named.

GNW ‘saw off eight others’ for Manchester large bus franchises

GNW claims that it saw off competition “from eight other operators” for the two large franchises. Those contracts will be worth up to £400m in revenue over seven years. The contracts awarded to Rotala are for a period of between three and five years in duration.

Rotala wins seven of nine small bus franchises in first tranche of awards in Greater Manchester
Rotala will give up its Diamond Bus depot in Bolton to Go North West, but at the same time it will take on seven small franchises

Rotala says it has already agreed “in principle” to dispose of its Weston Street depot in Bolton to GMCA, and the majority of the fleet there to other franchise winner(s). Stagecoach has not yet commented.

DBNW will purchase 67 new buses at a cost of around £13m as part of the seven small franchises’ requirements. It expects to see annual revenues in Greater Manchester decline by around £6m as a result of the change to its position.

Performance-related payments in Manchester bus franchises

Announcement of the winners in the first of three rounds of contract awards that will encompass all of Greater Manchester came on 23 December. That was later than expected, although Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that the delay was not as a result of a legal challenge, as had been speculated.

GMCA says that punctuality and reliability and the number of customer complaints “will sit at the heart of… operators’ contracts and impact what they get paid,” a point quickly underlined by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.

Speaking about the successful tenders for the two large franchises, GNW Managing Director Nigel Featham says: “We are extremely proud and excited to have been selected to run the first franchised bus services in Greater Manchester, and to be able to play our part in delivering the Bee Network.

“We are absolutely committed to providing the best possible service to the people of Bolton and Wigan and we can’t wait to get started. This new era of public transport will not only represent major change for bus passengers, but the thousands of people working to provide these services.

“While change can be exciting and full of new possibilities, it can be unsettling, and I want to reassure staff working at the depots to be run by Go North West from next September that we will be working hard to ensure a smooth transition in the coming months.”

At the same time as announcing the first successful bidders for the initial tranche of contracts for reregulated services, TfGM also confirmed a further order for 50 more BYD ADL Enviro400EV battery-electric double-deckers at a value of £22.7m.

Those buses will be used in Bury, Oldham and Rochdale as part of the second round of franchising, which is scheduled to be introduced in April 2024. 50 other Enviro400EVs, ordered earlier in 2022, will be used in Bolton and Wigan.

Above market value return for Rotala on Bolton assets

In a trading update issued immediately after the contract awards were announced, Rotala outlined how buses with an operator that has been unsuccessful in bidding for its existing work will move to the incoming business.

BYD ADL Enviro400EV battery electric bus for Bee Network in Greater Manchester
Transport for Greater Manchester has ordered a further 50 BYD ADL Enviro400EV electric double-deckers for the Bee Network

Via a residual value mechanism (RVM), operators will agree with TfGM which fleet members are to be placed in an asset pool.

TfGM will then allocate vehicles to franchises and the incoming operator will purchase them from the outgoing business. The price of each is set by the RVM, which will be incorporated into the contract for any franchise agreed by TfGM.

Disposal of Bolton depot and most of its vehicles is expected to realise around £30.1m for Rotala against unaudited book values of £22.7m. After sale of the depot is completed, Rotala will lease back from TfGM at a “nominal rent” it and anything else necessary to deliver services until the franchises commence. Vehicles will not be sold until September 2023.

Share This Article
Facebook LinkedIn Threads Email Copy Link
ByTim Deakin
Tim is Editor of routeone and has worked in both the coach and bus and haulage industries.
Previous Article Vertas takes delivery of seven Plaxton coaches Vertas takes delivery of seven new Plaxton coaches
Next Article London Borough of Redbridge Alexander Dennis Enviro200 London Borough of Redbridge adds five Enviro200s
- Advertisement -

Latest News

Go-Ahead London – Managing Director
Careers Jobs
andy burnham tfgm £15.6 billion (1) The funding announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves today (4 June) has been allocated to several combined mayoral authorities to use on rail, tram, road and bus infrastructure. Transport for Greater Manchester revealed today that part of the £2.5 billion it will receive will go towards making the Bee Network fully battery-electric by 2030. An as-yet undecided portion of that will support a planned investment in 1,000 new zero-emission buses over that period, the mayoral authority said. That is part of plans to build the UK's "first fully integrated, zero-emission public transport system", with trams and trains also set to benefit. Liverpool City Region's already announced BRT system is among the projects to which its £1.6 billion will be allocated. Under those plans - due for realisation by 2028 - a high-speed network will be served by articulated buses which are modelled on the 'Glider' in Belfast. It is due to link Liverpool city centre with John Lennon Airport, and Liverpool FC and Everton FC's respective stadia along three routes. Although the model of bus has not been confirmed, a Van Hool Exqui.City on loan from Belfast was last year used as a demonstrator. That 18m vehicle can accommodate around 30% more passengers than a typical bus and has three sets of double doors. The funding will also go towards buses elsewhere in the city as the region heads towards franchising services by 2027. Liverpool Mayor Steve Rotheram with a 'Glider' which was on loan from Belfast last year - an example of the sort of bus which could serve the new BRT Bus services in the East Midlands region will be boosted by the funding, thanks to the £2 billion handed to it today by the government. Some of that allocation will be used for a rapid transit network on the Trent Arc between Nottingham and Derby. Between the two cities, the Freeport, Infinity Park Investment Zone and Ratcliffe-on-Soar will also benefit from the improved bus services. South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority's newly announced commitment towards bus franchising has been boosted by £350 million in funding as part of that region's allocation. The funding for West Yorkshire will help build new bus stations in Bradford and Wakefield. Likewise, the Tees Valley Mayoral Authority will put its sum towards a new £15 million bus station in Middlesbrough. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander says: "Today marks a watershed moment on our journey to improving transport across the North and Midlands – opening up access to jobs, growing the economy and driving up quality of life as we deliver our Plan for Change. "For too long, people in the North and Midlands have been locked out of the investment they deserve. With £15.6bn of government investment, we’re giving local leaders the means to drive cities, towns and communities forward, investing in Britain’s renewal so you and your family are better off."
TfGM’s all-electric bus plan boosted by new £15.6 billion package
News
Local Transport Minister opens First Bus electric depot in Hengrove
Local Transport Minister opens First Bus electric depot in Hengrove
Bus
Contract pricing conundrum for coach and bus
Contract pricing conundrum: Unlikely to get easier any time soon
Editor's Comment
- Advertisement -
-

routeone magazine is the indispensable resource for professional UK coach, bus and minibus operators. The home of vehicle sales and the latest bus and coach job vacancies, routeone connects professional PCV operators with complete and unrivalled news coverage.

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • GDPR Policy
  • Sustainability
  • Advertise
  • Latest Issue
  • Share Your News
routeonerouteone
Follow US
© 2024 routeone News | Powered by Diversified Business Communications UK Ltd