Yorkshire Buses has cited the diesel crisis as it ceased operations with just a few hours’ notice on 31 March.
The Wakefield operator, which ran seven services, said multiple costs were making commerciality difficult, but that the situation would have been “sustainable” without war in Iran leading diesel to rise by around 25% throughout March.
Peter Penman, a director alongside Stephen Carr, says: “It’s a cost that we’ve got nothing to offset against. The contracts we had were tendered and bid for at set costs when there wasn’t a war on.”
Five services ran under contract to West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which found replacement operators for four of these to resume on 7 April.
“Unfortunately, it gets to the point where you’ve got to choose between paying the fuel bill and paying the staff,” says Mr Penman. “You’ve come to a dead end.”
Mr Penman, who started the business with Mr Carr with one school contract in September 2020, adds that franchising processes in both West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire were already putting the business in jeopardy.
At least one of Yorkshire Buses’ routes was covered by the first phase of roll-out, but the company did not bid by the deadline in March.
“The 150-page document you have to fill out is ridiculous,” says Mr Penman, who refers to the Bee Network process where every franchise was won by a large bidder apart from a school-service contract. “As a small operator, we don’t have the money to pay a consultant to do the paperwork and, with what happened in Greater Manchester, we just have no hope.
“We’ve got vehicles and we’ve had to finance these and cover the cost over a period of time. With franchising, they will be inadequate because they’ll be too old.”
Mr Penman says he is sorry to see Yorkshire Buses disappear, believing the operation prioritised serving the community and noting its various charity efforts. “It’s been a hell of a journey and it’s sad to see it go because we’ve put blood, sweat, and tears into it,” he says. “But, unfortunately, as small operators, we haven’t got a never-ending pot of money to rely on.”
