Cheshire West & East Tenders

[iMarkeh]

Cheshire West & East Tenders
I thought it best to introduce this as a new topic seeing as normally these tender updates end up in operator specific threads. We have a page for Manchester tenders and it seems to work well.


News for tenders are as follows
Cheshire West has put the 15/X30 Evening tender out. Same timetable as current. Contract due to start April 2023
Cheshire West has put the 102/103 Ellesmere Port Sunday Service tender out. Same timetable as current. Contract due to start April 2023

Cheshire East has put out a tender for a 312 Handforth and Wilmslow Circular. Mon-Sat, PVR 1. Apparently using S106 developer funding. Tender due to start Feb 2023 for 1 year, possible 1 year extension (so upto 2 years in all). Bus must be Euro 6 to comply with Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone.
Service to run from what seems to be the housing development adjacent to Handforth Dean (but it suggests it doesn't serve Handforth Dean Tesco).
Timetable and route description: https://prnt.sc/pScmm3zftFFp

[knutstransport]

RE: Cheshire West & East Tenders
Notice the 312 will only start at 9am. Doesn't make it any use for someone working normal office hours in Wilmslow and likely to be a regular passenger (travelling most days) rather than shoppers who may only travel once a week. I also find it strange the first journey is Wilmslow to Handforth and the last is Handforth to Wilmslow, not the other way around.

I also observe the 312 will leave Wilmslow 7 minutes after the 130 but will get there just 1 minute later. That will presumably weaken the viability of off-peak 130 journeys running to Handforth.

As there is an existing bus from Wilmslow to Handforth Dean Retail Park, it might be the rules regarding subsiding bus services where there's a commercial alternative comes in to play. Cheshire East seem to interpret them more literally than TfGM.

[iMarkeh]

RE: Cheshire West & East Tenders

(14/12/2022 11:38)knutstransport Wrote:  Notice the 312 will only start at 9am. Doesn't make it any use for someone working normal office hours in Wilmslow and likely to be a regular passenger (travelling most days) rather than shoppers who may only travel once a week. I also find it strange the first journey is Wilmslow to Handforth and the last is Handforth to Wilmslow, not the other way around.

I also observe the 312 will leave Wilmslow 7 minutes after the 130 but will get there just 1 minute later. That will presumably weaken the viability of off-peak 130 journeys running to Handforth.

Absolutely useless to almost everyone. Just makes it so that the development can claim 'we tried a bus, no one used it'. Suppose, did we expect anything better in Cheshire East?

(14/12/2022 11:38)knutstransport Wrote:  As there is an existing bus from Wilmslow to Handforth Dean Retail Park, it might be the rules regarding subsiding bus services where there's a commercial alternative comes in to play. Cheshire East seem to interpret them more literally than TfGM.

That's the free bus though. No commercial service and as such, it wouldn't count as it wouldn't abstract any revenue from someone else.

[knutstransport]

RE: Cheshire West & East Tenders

(14/12/2022 14:53)iMarkeh Wrote:  Just makes it so that the development can claim 'we tried a bus, no one used it'.

I think it might relate to Esther McVey. She was fussing to the media about the council having unspent S106 money and claiming the council should use it on a replacement for the withdrawn 378. Cheshire East argued at the time that would be against the conditions of the S106 funding.

Quote:That's the free bus though. No commercial service and as such, it wouldn't count as it wouldn't abstract any revenue from someone else.

I wouldn't be surprised if Cheshire East determined a contract awarded by Tesco and M&S to D&G Bus to be a 'commercial service'.

[KXW212]

RE: Cheshire West & East Tenders

(14/12/2022 19:03)knutstransport Wrote:  I think it might relate to Esther McVey. She was fussing to the media about the council having unspent S106 money and claiming the council should use it on a replacement for the withdrawn 378. Cheshire East argued at the time that would be against the conditions of the S106 funding.


I wouldn't be surprised if Cheshire East determined a contract awarded by Tesco and M&S to D&G Bus to be a 'commercial service'.

Nice, tidy one bus, one driver duty.

[knutstransport]

RE: Cheshire West & East Tenders

(15/12/2022 09:29)KXW212 Wrote:  Nice, tidy one bus, one driver duty.

Nice and easy for an operator - one bus and one additional full time driver. Not so good for potential passengers.

What's the likelihood D&G win it on the basis they'll use a 28 seater Solo or Enviro, until they decide to randomly allocate a 26 seater Enviro like 41 being on 88 duties today.

[knutstransport]

RE: Cheshire West & East Tenders
No surprise that D&G will be running the 312.

[KX03 KYY]

RE: Cheshire West & East Tenders

(13/12/2022 20:43)iMarkeh Wrote:  I thought it best to introduce this as a new topic seeing as normally these tender updates end up in operator specific threads. We have a page for Manchester tenders and it seems to work well.


News for tenders are as follows
Cheshire West has put the 15/X30 Evening tender out. Same timetable as current. Contract due to start April 2023
Cheshire West has put the 102/103 Ellesmere Port Sunday Service tender out. Same timetable as current. Contract due to start April 2023

Any news on these tenders?

[iMarkeh]

RE: Cheshire West & East Tenders

(15/02/2023 23:31)CX06 BHE Wrote:  Any news on these tenders?

No info sorry.



On the 312, I think it's interesting that D&G have it to serve Handforth Dean Tesco (when Cheshire East had it to not serve Tesco), that's a good thing. Shame it couldn't serve Spath Lane though or something just to provide something different that the 130 isn't providing.

[knutstransport]

RE: Cheshire West & East Tenders

(16/02/2023 19:06)iMarkeh Wrote:  On the 312, I think it's interesting that D&G have it to serve Handforth Dean Tesco (when Cheshire East had it to not serve Tesco), that's a good thing. Shame it couldn't serve Spath Lane though or something just to provide something different that the 130 isn't providing.

Turns out S106 funding from the building of the Next store has been used.