Launch of tax rise-funded bus routes is delayed
StagecoachPlans for seven new bus routes funded by a council tax precept rise have been delayed and are not expected to launch until May after legal disagreements.
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority said a bus operator, which it could not name for "legal reasons", had withdrawn winning bids for routes in Peterborough, Cambridge, Ely, Huntingdon, Wisbech and surrounding villages.
Stagecoach East confirmed it was the operator and told the BBC the decision to retender the routes had been taken by the combined authority amid inconsistencies in the award letter, talks about increasing the tender prices and legal concerns.
Dr Nik Johnson, the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said the "vast majority" of routes funded by the precept rise were already up and running.
PAThe bus services were being paid for by an additional council tax charge, known as a mayoral precept.
The contribution to the combined authority rose from £12 to £36 for Band D householders in 2024.
That rise came after it had decided in 2022 to step in to save bus routes Stagecoach East wanted to drop.
As the winning bids to operate seven of the routes have been withdrawn, the tendering process must now start again.
Dr Johnson, who represents Labour, said although the delay was "frustrating" the authority had dealt with operator setbacks before.
He said: "I was very proud when this organisation stepped up to rescue the original 23 routes, and I am just as proud today to see the vast majority of mayoral-precept-funded services up and running, all serving parts of our region that an out-of-date deregulated market either couldn't or wouldn't."
Stagecoach East has since said it did not withdraw from the tender process.
It said inconsistencies in the award letter caused several delays in the conclusion of the contract and it had worked with the authority to resolve these.
Stagecoach said it then asked for an increase in the tender prices to be considered following the government announcement on increasing employers' National Insurance contributions.
The bus operator said it also identified concerns over the legality of operating a tendered service where a commercial one exists.
Darren Roe, managing director of Stagecoach East, said: "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."
Paul Bristow, the Conservative candidate for the role of mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said the setback was "nothing short of a scandal".
He said: "Local people have been paying the tax and the enormous increases in 2024, and will again in 2025, but [will] not get the promised service.
"If the mayor can't even manage this simple procurement process, how can we trust him to implement bus franchising across the whole of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough?"
The routes affected
- 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
A spokesperson for the combined authority said the routes were part of a package of 53 services funded through the mayoral precept - and 38 of those routes were already up and running.
It said four so-called tiger services - bookable buses serving rural areas - were set to launch at the weekend for Fenland, East Cambridgeshire, and two in South Cambridgeshire.
Johnson is expected decide in February on how to reform buses across the area.
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