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richw

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Reportedly a Hopleys solo and a OTS sprinter has been painted citybus red. Haven’t seen these for myself just messages received from friends in those areas
 

richw

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I wouldn't have thought that Cornwall Bus were competing for the school/college routes too (other than ones they already have, or near relatives to): they've got job enough recruiting sufficient drivers for the new network. Besides, if F.K. lost out to them there'd be a lot of questions to be answered, given that the school routes don't require such modern buses, the principal reason given for CB's higher price submission winning out over FK's on the tendered routes.

P.S. I'm aware that other operators work school routes too: e.g. Rosevidney Travel 337 Leedstown to Mullion School via Breage. Mounts Bay Coaches have their first ever double decker too for school work.


On the local service tender Kernow offered every vehicle Euro 6 - Plymouth Citybus have only committed Euro 5/6 mixture.

The schools awarded with bus services were those incorporated into PCB registered routes.

The retender is for 160 remaining school flows.

Kernow only operates two standalone CC school contracts at Helston and the ones at Bodmin transferred from Webber’s.

Some of the 160 flows do / may fit onto Kernow’s commercial bus services.

The vast majority are held by independents.

In the original school tender CC wanted Euro 3 or 4, then after four years a maximum 10 year age limit. Kernow won a significant of the contracts on that basis and through the 60/40 quality/price formula.

Despite insisting they had enough money for these new specification, CC then awarded the bus contract to PCB at £3m per annum above the budget, for new services as well as existing, but deciding to fund them by not accepting the winning Kernow school prices and instead going back to tender on a much lower specification - Euro 2 and up to 22 years old at start (allowing up to 26 years old by year 4)

So despite still talking about improved quality of school contracts to make students have a positive view of buses, they’ve actually decided to allow 26 year old buses for schools, while blowing £3m more per annum on inventing more routes and frequency on routes that hardly carry anyone.
 

richw

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Citybus currently have olicences for 310 vehicles, existing work plus the tenders would be just under 300 vehicles.
 

Goldfish62

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Reportedly a Hopleys solo and a OTS sprinter has been painted citybus red. Haven’t seen these for myself just messages received from friends in those areas
Well, I think it's great news that some of the small independents are participating and not having their businesses destroyed.
 

carlberry

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GoNorth East have just sold their former Western Greyhound Solo's which I think is very silly of them when GCB needs 130 buses.
It's a good move for them. If Go Ahead are short of buses in the future they might end up forcing other companies to put older vehicles back into service to release newer stuff for Cornwall. If they've got rid of all their spares they're safe!:lol:
 

TheGrandWazoo

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I’m getting an error message on that link. Presumably set to contacts only
Might be - anyway it's V100OTS that has been repainted

If Go Ahead are short of buses in the future
That's IF. Also, will it actually be 130 buses? If a certain number are these smaller operators like OTS and Hopleys, and if FK decide to register some chunks of work with a consequent removal of tenders, that could push it down a little.

Appreciate that there is a little patriotism on here. However, we are seeing claims that GA may have underbid this and that and how will they cope with inflation and fuel duty rises etc, and by the same turn, being told that they were massively more expensive than FK. Bit of levity might be good
 

83G/84D

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Might be - anyway it's V100OTS that has been repainted

That's IF. Also, will it actually be 130 buses? If a certain number are these smaller operators like OTS and Hopleys, and if FK decide to register some chunks of work with a consequent removal of tenders, that could push it down a little.

Appreciate that there is a little patriotism on here. However, we are seeing claims that GA may have underbid this and that and how will they cope with inflation and fuel duty rises etc, and by the same turn, being told that they were massively more expensive than FK. Bit of levity might be good

V100 OTS has been in use on service 442 in recent weeks. I understand that OTS have also used a demonstrator bus on the route, no further details known as the driver who told me didn't know what sort of bus it was. They have used a Mellor demo bus in the past.
 

Wirewiper

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Might be - anyway it's V100OTS that has been repainted

That's IF. Also, will it actually be 130 buses? If a certain number are these smaller operators like OTS and Hopleys, and if FK decide to register some chunks of work with a consequent removal of tenders, that could push it down a little.

Appreciate that there is a little patriotism on here. However, we are seeing claims that GA may have underbid this and that and how will they cope with inflation and fuel duty rises etc, and by the same turn, being told that they were massively more expensive than FK. Bit of levity might be good

I quite agree, there seems to be some "Tall Poppy Syndrome" going on here and there are some who I am quite sure would be only too delighted to see Go Ahead fall flat on their faces, so they can say "we told you so". First would be getting exactly the same treatment if they had won the contract.
 

Goldfish62

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I quite agree, there seems to be some "Tall Poppy Syndrome" going on here and there are some who I am quite sure would be only too delighted to see Go Ahead fall flat on their faces, so they can say "we told you so". First would be getting exactly the same treatment if they had won the contract.
Agreed.

Personally, and despite my own disappointment at FK missing out, I hope it's a great success as that that will be good for public transport in Cornwall.
 

richw

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Unless there is some form of integrated ticketing the public may lose out here. Not many details of the ticketing pilot for May has been announced yet, that may well be the game changer.
 

Goldfish62

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Unless there is some form of integrated ticketing the public may lose out here. Not many details of the ticketing pilot for May has been announced yet, that may well be the game changer.
Yes, agreed on that. I would of course expect the independents contracted to GCB to be offering the full GCB range, but it's what happens with any integration with FK.

It's a pity the contract start date could not have been deferred to the start date of the ticketing scheme.
 

ChrisC

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Unless there is some form of integrated ticketing the public may lose out here. Not many details of the ticketing pilot for May has been announced yet, that may well be the game changer.

It’s looking like I have not chosen the best time for a week long stay in Penzance. I’m staying at the new Premier Inn near to Penzance Station from 27th April until 4th May. I was intending to get a First Kernow 7 day ticket! The Ride Cornwall ticket is now ridiculously highly priced for daily travel, especially now that there is no Railcard discount. An 8 day Freedom of Devon and Cornwall Railrover at only £57 with my Senior Railcard will be far better value especially as I can use it as part of my return travel down from Nottingham from Tiverton Parkway onwards. I will therefore be using the train within Cornwall for a week supplemented by bus travel.

I have got such a good deal that week at the Premier Inn that it would be a no brainier to delay my holiday for a few weeks until the ticketing situation may or may not sort itself out. Delaying my stay until June would add about £150 to my hotel bill!
 

richw

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It’s looking like I have not chosen the best time for a week long stay in Penzance. I’m staying at the new Premier Inn near to Penzance Station from 27th April until 4th May. I was intending to get a First Kernow 7 day ticket! The Ride Cornwall ticket is now ridiculously highly priced for daily travel, especially now that there is no Railcard discount. An 8 day Freedom of Devon and Cornwall Railrover at only £57 with my Senior Railcard will be far better value especially as I can use it as part of my return travel down from Nottingham from Tiverton Parkway onwards. I will therefore be using the train within Cornwall for a week supplemented by bus travel.

I have got such a good deal that week at the Premier Inn that it would be a no brainier to delay my holiday for a few weeks until the ticketing situation may or may not sort itself out. Delaying my stay until June would add about £150 to my hotel bill!

As we have yet to know details about ticketing around the tenders there may be a ticket planned for 1/4 yet
 

Goldfish62

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It’s looking like I have not chosen the best time for a week long stay in Penzance. I’m staying at the new Premier Inn near to Penzance Station from 27th April until 4th May. I was intending to get a First Kernow 7 day ticket! The Ride Cornwall ticket is now ridiculously highly priced for daily travel, especially now that there is no Railcard discount. An 8 day Freedom of Devon and Cornwall Railrover at only £57 with my Senior Railcard will be far better value especially as I can use it as part of my return travel down from Nottingham from Tiverton Parkway onwards. I will therefore be using the train within Cornwall for a week supplemented by bus travel.

I have got such a good deal that week at the Premier Inn that it would be a no brainier to delay my holiday for a few weeks until the ticketing situation may or may not sort itself out. Delaying my stay until June would add about £150 to my hotel bill!
Depending on where you're travelling most of the FK Mon-Sat network will still be intact. In the Penzance area it just means that you won't be able to use the 5 or 16/A with a FK ticket.
 

Busaholic

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Personally, I've no brief for either FK or GCB, and I'm not averse to competition either, so long as it's fair. However, I have a very deep suspicion of Cornwall Council, that increases by the month: almost none of this is based on rumours or speculation, but on what is in the public domain. For instance, CC's auditors announced yesterday 'serious failings' by the council in having to make a £45.2 million early repayment penalty charge on an £85 million loan from RBS taken out at unnecesssarily high interest rates. Needless to say, no-one will be held accountable, the poor old council tax payer, me included, will have to bail them out.
 

radamfi

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Yes, agreed on that. I would of course expect the independents contracted to GCB to be offering the full GCB range, but it's what happens with any integration with FK.

What would be the point re-tendering to a new company if fares becomes prohibitively expensive? I don't see how the public benefits by having two separate networks with two separate ticketing systems.
 

Goldfish62

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What would be the point re-tendering to a new company if fares becomes prohibitively expensive? I don't see how the public benefits by having two separate networks with two separate ticketing systems.
Not following your first sentence. Who's talking about retendering? Totally agree re the disbenefit of two separate ticketing systems without mutual acceptance.
 

richw

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Ots have effectively confirmed their involvement in the citybus partnership today, and implying with this advert they have more work than previous. Citybus aren’t recruiting for Falmouth on their other adverts so putting 2 and 2 together I wonder if OTS are subbing for all the Falmouth stuff
 

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didbygraham

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GoNorth East have just sold their former Western Greyhound Solo's which I think is very silly of them when GCB needs 130 buses.
Go Cornwall / Citybus wont want the Solos back! They are very much an ADL fleet and I would expect most if not all the "new" buses will be ADL Enviros of various sizes.
 

richw

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Go Cornwall / Citybus wont want the Solos back! They are very much an ADL fleet and I would expect most if not all the "new" buses will be ADL Enviros of various sizes.

ADL don’t make a vehicle narrow enough for a few of the places the tenders visit.
 

Goldfish62

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ADL don’t make a vehicle narrow enough for a few of the places the tenders visit.
And as has been highlighted the Go-North East ones are too old anyway.

Either an order of 7.2m / 7.9m slimline SRs or subcontracting all the small stuff to other operators would appear to be the only viable choices.
 

richw

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And as has been highlighted the Go-North East ones are too old anyway.

Either an order of 7.2m / 7.9m slimline SRs or subcontracting all the small stuff to other operators would appear to be the only viable choices.

euro 5 came out in 2009 so the 59 plates might be ok?
 

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