Fenland bus users must wait for new on-demand service as tendering process must restart
Bus users in Fenland will have to wait until Spring before a new ‘on-demand’ service is launched.
The Tiger 7 service, covering Chatteris to Wisbech and surrounding villages, is one of seven routes affected following an announcement the franchise-bidding process must start again after a bus operator withdrew from the tendering.
Bus operator Stagecoach East has responded to claims by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) that it withdrew from a tendering process.
In a press statement issued yesterday Mayor Dr Johnson moved quickly to reassure residents that their new routes would be up and running by spring.
Since 2022, when the first decision was made to step in and rescue almost two dozen services deemed unviable by their operators, the Combined Authority has successfully procured more than 40 mayoral precept-funded routes.
As a result of the withdrawn bids, the tendering process for the remaining seven routes which include the Tiger Bus covering Wisbech, Chatteris, and surrounding villages will begin again.
Mayor Dr Johnson, 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to see the vast majority of mayoral-precept-funded services up and running, all serving parts of our region that an out-of-date deregulated market either couldn’t or wouldn’t.
“On these last seven routes, I know the delay is frustrating, but we’ve dealt with operator setbacks before and are working to get them going as soon as possible.”
The CPCA claimed that a bus operator, which it said could not be named for legal reasons, had withdrawn all of its winning bids to run the final seven Tiger-branded precept-funded bus services in the region including in Fenland.
However, in a retaliatory statement, Stagecoach East has outed itself as the mystery operator and said it was ‘saddened’ by the claim it had withdrawn its bids for the new Tiger bus routes, which were originally due to start on November 29 last year.
The bus company also claimed it had not withdrawn from the tendering process but claimed the decision to re-tender the routes was taken by the Combine Authority itself.
Stagecoach East claimed that inconsistencies in the award letter caused several delays in the conclusion of the contract, and it had 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 the Combined Authority to deliver more bus services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough but need the time and clarity in the procurement process to do this.”
Following the conclusion of the bus franchising consultation in November 2024, Dr Johnson was also expected to decide next month on how to reform buses across the area, however, that date may be subject to change.
The other routes affected are: Tiger 1 – Huntingdon to Cambridge; Tiger 2/3 – Cambridge North and South connections; Tiger 4/5 Soham to Cambridge and Newmarket to Cambridge; and Tiger 9 – Peterborough Orbital.
The routes are part of a package of 53 services funded through the Mayoral precept. 38 routes across the region are already up and running, with a further four Tiger on Demand services – flexible, bookable buses serving rural areas – set to launch this weekend, covering Fenland, East Cambridgeshire, and two in South Cambridgeshire.
Other improvements include the introduction in 2024 of the Tiger card, offering £1 bus fares for under-25s, an all-day concessionary pass being introduced from April, and retaining a £2 cap on bus fares until the end of March.
