A row has broken out between Stagecoach East and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) over a rerun of the tender process for seven subsidised ‘Tiger’ bus routes that should have commenced operation in November 2024.
Those form the final part of a mayoral precept-funded round of service improvements in the region. On 8 January, CPCA said that an unnamed operator – now known to be Stagecoach East – had withdrawn all its winning bids for those seven routes, which would require the procurement process to restart and delay their introduction.
However, the following day saw Stagecoach East challenge that assertion and say that it did not withdraw after award of the work.
Instead, the operator claims that the award letter originally issued for the routes contained “inconsistencies” that caused delays in the conclusion of the contract, and that it worked with CPCA “to try and resolve these.”
It adds that those delays and an increase to employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) led it to ask the Combined Authority to consider an increase in contract prices. The change to NICs “pushed up significantly the cost of provision,” the operator notes.
Stagecoach East had also identified what it says are “concerns over the legality of operating a tendered service where a commercial one exists.” CPCA does not mention either that or the request for a contract price increase in its statement.
However, a rerun of the tendering process now means that the Combined Authority does not expect the seven services in question to commence until May. Mayor Dr Nik Johnson describes the delay as frustrating, but adds that “we have dealt with operator setbacks before and are working to get them going as soon as possible.”
Stagecoach East Managing Director Darren Roe notes that the operator remains committed to working with CPCA to deliver more bus services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, “but [needs] the time and clarity in the procurement process to do this.”
The seven services at the centre of the spat are part of 53 routes funded via the mayoral precept. 38 are already running, along with four demand responsive Tiger on Demand services. The Tiger brand has also extended to a Tiger bus pass, which offers £1 fares for under-25s.
Dr Johnson is expected to decide during February whether bus franchising is introduced in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. That was previously due in January, but the Combined Authority notes that the final date for that decision remains subject to change.
