Some info I’m aware of:
PCBs bid was higher than FSW but CC decided that they offered better ‘quality’ in their tender process. FSW offered a fleet of Euro 6 buses all from exiting fleet or brand new for their part of Cornwall.
The only schools awarded are those school flows where the students travel on a tendered service. All the standalone school tenders have gone back out to tender. Apparently FSW won most of them against CCs quality specification, but they couldn’t afford what they specified so they’re back out to tender on a Euro 2 requirement.
FSW won the Truro Park and Ride including for the extended late and 7 days service.
PCB need at least 200 new staff. That’s a huge risk for both PCB and CC. FSW has indicated to staff that it will continue to employ all staff who want to stay and will find create / find work for them. First currently pay significantly higher rates per hour so if there is work would there be an attraction to jump ship?
The idea that there was a close relationship between FSW and CC isn’t reality. CC tried to force FSW into a regulated enhanced partnership which they refused. Arguably CC may have held this against First. registrations for 1st April don’t need to be submitted to the traffic commissioner until late January. I’d expect the First commercial team are working flat out on countering and expanding the commercial network for this deadline for submission.
CC owns 16 of the MMC200s. All the other new vehicles are owned by FSW outright.
The CC contracts weren’t profitable at their previous rates so this certainly isn’t critical in terms of the business going forward. I personally don’t see it as a big loss and never have imagined the tenders to be a big deal. After all they are to make big loss making routes more viable.
Apologies for taking so long to get back on this, but I've been pondering all this, digging into what I laughably call my memory but also going online with mixed results and even trying to find old info in my chaotic collection of magazines and ephemera. I've got some questions, but also some comments, based on my researches and trying not to be too opinionated.
First, the questions. Do we know roughly how much more in actual or percentage terms PCB bid?
Do First Kernow offer the same rates of pay to all driving staff? I don't mean extras for seniority, etc, but I thought First introduced a lower rate of pay for the drivers on the routes they won back on tender from Western Greyhound in Penwith and Kerrier (Helston/Lizard). That, at least, was what Buses magazine reported at the time and I don't remember it being denied by FK, and probably explained how they managed to pitch their bid lower. Has that now gone? 'Significantly higher rates per hour'? What, £1 or so - would be interesting to know.
The close relationship bit may not have been true in recent times, but I'd say it was certainly true at the time quoted above, also when WG eventually collapsed. In fact, somewhere I have an actual physical letter(!) from Cornwall Council stating that was the case! 'Close working relationship' was the phrase used iirc. Again, from all I've read in recent years about councils, PTEs etc trying to be far more involved with so many aspects of bus operation without the responsibility of employing all the people involved or, usually, having to buy/lease the buses/depots, the only large group that's really signified they might go along with some of the more radical (controversial) ideas has been Go-Ahead, so that MIGHT also help to explain the decision to award in full to PCB.
Others have queried your remarks on the profitability to FK of the tendered stuff, but it's a possibility that the figures could be tweaked in several ways, to give whichever impression was favourite!
Now my comments purely on the Penwith scene i.e. all the routes currently running out of Penzance Bus Station. If all the evening and Sunday operations are non-commercial, that's basically the A1, A17, M6, T1 and U4, plus the T2 from St Ives. If all these were to continue much as now, that'd be several buses, especially on Sundays, to be sourced from the smaller buses Go Cornwall will be operating on their daytime routes in the area? Capacity might not be an issue in the evenings, but Sunday daytimes, also some early Mon-Fri workings? If people going to work and students get left behind there'll be letters in the local paper! That's also a lot of 'unsocial hours' to be worked by the drivers, whereas the better paid FK drivers won't have to work them any longer, assuming current arrangements. Of course, it could be for instance that FK register the TI/2s as commercial, for instance.
Thoughts anyone?