TfGM Bus franchising

[WatcherZero]

Indeed and with Stagecoach winning three large franchises in Tranche 2 they havent stuck to the original rule that companies couldnt operate more than one large franchise to stop them exploiting economies of scale to crowd out smaller competitors.

 

[GusB]

News item from Route One:

Stagecoach wins in Manchester bus franchising second tranche - routeone

Stagecoach has been awarded all three large local contracts that form part of the second round of bus franchising in Greater Manchester.

www.route-one.net

Stagecoach has been awarded all three of the large local service contracts that form part of the second tranche of bus franchising in Greater Manchester, which covers the north-east of the conurbation.

The group will take up those contracts from 24 March 2024 for five years, with two optional extensions of one year each. Small franchise contracts under the latest awards have gone to Rotala-owned Diamond Bus North West (DBNW), and First Manchester.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) describes the three large contracts as covering Middleton, Oldham, and Queen’s Road to the north of Manchester city centre. Stagecoach already has a depot in Middleton, but at Oldham and Queen’s Road it will displace First Manchester and Go North West, respectively.

Stagecoach major winner in second tranche of Greater Manchester bus franchising
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham announced the winners of the second tranche of bus franchising in the conurbation on Friday 23 June
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham confirmed the awards on 23 June. Success for Stagecoach will see it run 87 routes with 349 buses under the three large service contracts.

947 employees will transfer from First Manchester and Go North West, while those already with Stagecoach at Middleton will remain with the business.

Of the small franchise contracts, DBNW has won the single award for Oldham. It involves two routes and six vehicles. The business will operate it from a site in Eccles that is to primarily deliver franchised services in the first tranche via multiple small contracts.

(snip)

Stagecoach is major winner in second tranche of Greater Manchester bus franchising
Success for Stagecoach in the second round of bus franchising in Greater Manchester will see the operator retain its existing depot in Middleton
In Rochdale, First Manchester has been awarded both small franchises. They will utilise up to 40 buses, the group has confirmed.

Naming of the winners in the second tranche of franchising in Greater Manchester follows the award of first round contracts in December 2022, which saw Go-Ahead Group as the major beneficiary. It will take up that work on 24 September.

The final tranche, covering the southern part of the conurbation, requires bid submissions on 10 November. Those contracts will be awarded on 22 March 2024 to commence operation on 5 January 2025. Early 2025 will also see the introduction of capped contactless payments across bus and tram services.

 

[Leyland Bus]

Also, I found this online from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority website, explaining the upcoming changes, including the new fare scales that are set to be introduced. The link is available below:

Home

Better off with the Bee Network: New tickets to make travel 20% cheaper in Greater Manchester

www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk

With the start of the transformational Bee Network just three months away, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham today announced a range of new tickets that will make travel across the whole city-region cheaper and easier.

The new Bee AnyBus + Tram tickets – delivered by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) with support from Greater Manchester TravelCards Ltd (GMTL) – will make combined bus and tram travel around 20 percent cheaper compared to buying products separately and will launch on 24 September when the city-region becomes the first area to begin to bring buses under local control for the first time in almost 40 years (from 24 September).

 

[WatcherZero]

TfGM have decided to maintain the flat bus fares for another two years to March 2025 pending another 12 month financial review in Summer 2024.

https://democracy.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/documents/s27371/12%20GMCA%20Delivering%20the%20Bee%20Network%20-%20Annual%20Review%20of%20Capped%20Bus%20Fares.pdf

New multimodal bus/tram combi fares for shorter journeys and child tickets, asterisked are the already existing tickets and their price has remained unchanged. They will be available for purchase on their own but also what you will be charged automatically for touch on touch off travel.

 

[WWH44L]

They're in this week, I'll keep you posted. The vinyls are due this week also, so those should be logo'd up straight away, 33028 might end up running before they arrive.

How’s the progress of this weeks repaints going? Did the vinyls for 33028 arrive as noticed it’s been tracking in service.

 

[Leyland Bus]

How’s the progress of this weeks repaints going? Did the vinyls for 33028 arrive as noticed it’s been tracking in service.

Not yet, so it's running about in plain livery for now. The supplier has had an issue, so hopefully they'll arrive early next week. This week's repaints are almost complete and look good (even if I do say so myself!) They will be finished on Monday, as we broke off to letter 40765 that returned from Blackburn. 40748 has gone the other-way in return.

It's currently planned to outshop 33016/7 at BN next week.

 

[Andyh82]

The staff at Queens Road will have gone though a lot of change in only a few years. From First to Go North West to Stagecoach

 

[WWH44L]

Not yet, so it's running about in plain livery for now. The supplier has had an issue, so hopefully they'll arrive early next week. This week's repaints are almost complete and look good (even if I do say so myself!) They will be finished on Monday, as we broke off to letter 40765 that returned from Blackburn. 40748 has gone the other-way in return.

It's currently planned to outshop 33016/7 at BN next week.

Great update again. Really rattling through these repaints now.
Looking forward to seeing this weeks when they are out and about.

 

[Andyh82]

It’s funny how practically every service is changing to a new operator. A big game of musical chairs. GNW have poured loads of resource into getting ready for Phase 1 but have now lost their existing operation in Phase 2

First losing Oldham but gaining Rochdale. Does this mean they lose the big historical Oldham Mumps depot and gain Rosso’s muddy yard in Rochdale?

With Stagecoach having won big in Phase 2, I wonder if this makes it less likely that they will win Phase 3, that being the majority of their current heartland

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

With Stagecoach having won big in Phase 2, I wonder if this makes it less likely that they will win Phase 3, that being the majority of their current heartland

With the town centre development in Stockport in mind, what is planned to happen to the existing Daw Bank bus depot?

 

[Geeves]

I would be interesting if First win the Stockport side now after being turfed off their long time haunt in Oldham. The final southern phase might go to a totally new to NW operation like ComfortDelgro or National Express anyway that is of course speculation

On the Diamond bus front all 14 buses on the 471 today Rochdale - Bolton were all in the new corpy yellow, which just so happened to be running behind Andy's big announcement in Rochdale

 

[ic31420]

The yellow banana buses ( as called by 4 year old) are really getting about.

What will happen with the Arrival Depot (and fleet) at Folds Road in Bolton, presumably the Arriva services (and Vision) will switch the new operator?

 

[Mothball]

Diamond have only won two routes in Oldham as stated in their statement on the website.

https://www.diamondbuses.com/news/tfgmgmca-franchise-contracts-tranche-2/

Well that's eco friendly and keeping costs down ain't it? Having 6 buses, running 40 dead miles a day from Eccles to Oldham and back when there are numerous depots nearby

 

[ic31420]

I wasn't aware the Leigh busway fleet was being yellowed but BL65YZE is parked up on depot resplendent in yellow.

Appears the busway fleet has lost its uniqueness.

 

[Geeves]

As the busway was a TfGM project they were the ones who stipulated who and what could run on it along with the livery. As TfGM are now in charge of everything they can send any number of buses down there they like, so no need for a unique livery or banning other companies from using their baby

 

[pokemonsuper9]

they can send any number of buses down there they like

What other services would you want to send down there? Most of the services near it that don't use it serve a purpose of being not on it, the Busway is an express route to the rest of the normal routes.

 

[stait.john]

I wasn't aware the Leigh busway fleet was being yellowed but BL65YZE is parked up on depot resplendent in yellow.

Appears the busway fleet has lost its uniqueness.

39238, 39240 and 39245 currently painted. 39253 and one other which I can’t remember off the top of my head currently away for paint.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Jun 2023 ==

39238, 39240 and 39245 currently painted. 39253 and one other which I can’t remember off the top of my head currently away for paint.

39247 is the other one away for paint.

 

[winston270twm]

The yellow banana buses ( as called by 4 year old) are really getting about.

What will happen with the Arrival Depot (and fleet) at Folds Road in Bolton, presumably the Arriva services (and Vision) will switch the new operator?

Diamond NW will be taking over the lease on Folds Road, Bolton & will be using it as an operational base + Rotala Group Driver Training Centre, that will also be in conjunction with a nearby 3 storey office block they've recently acquired, which is being converted in to driver training centre + accommodation for non local drivers whilst training.

 

[Darren Hayward]

Arriva will almost certainly bid for the Southern franchise with Arriva focusing on Salford, Central Manchester and Trafford which could allow it to keep Wythenshawe Depot with Stagecoach focusing on Stockport SE Manchester and the southern half of Tameside

 

[childwallblues]

The yellow banana buses ( as called by 4 year old) are really getting about.

What will happen with the Arrival Depot (and fleet) at Folds Road in Bolton, presumably the Arriva services (and Vision) will switch the new operator?

Arriva are to transfer all the buses to replace older buses at other depots.

 

[Snow1964]

Todays announcement at Rochdale

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham speaking at the announcement at Rochdale interchange. Image: LDRS.
Bus and tram tickets are to be launched, cutting the cost of travel in Greater Manchester for many users by 20 per cent from September.

The Bee Network starts on 24 September, when the city-region becomes the first to bring bus services under local control since 1986.

Launching the new Bee AnyBus + tram tickets at Rochdale interchange, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said it would mark ‘a London style integrated fare structure for our city region’.

He also announced that two Greater Manchester railway routes, Stalybridge to Victoria and Glossop to Piccadilly, would become the first outside London to pilot contactless pay-as-you-go travel.

He said this would be a step towards integrating the rail service in the region in a similar way to buses and trams.

Mr Burnham also said the £2 cap on bus fares would be continued until September 2024 as Transport for Greater Manchester had secured ongoing support from the Government.

Greater Manchester moves closer to 'London-style' transport network

Bus and tram tickets are to be launched, cutting the cost of travel in Greater Manchester for many users by 20 per cent from September.

www.questmedianetwork.co.uk

 

[Bletchleyite]

I find it interesting that Burnham's persistence with mode-based tickets is being talked of as integrated. Like London, this is not an integrated fare structure.

In an integrated fare structure, a ticket is valid by whatever modes are necessary to complete the journey, at the passenger's option. While they do have a cheaper bus only option, Merseytravel is much closer to this with their period tickets, yet London is moving away from them with PAYG being favoured over Travelcards (though the caps are integrated).

I do hope over time there is a move to a truly integrated fare system and the network to support it. This can be seen in any German, Austrian or Swiss city.

 

[Goldfish62]

I find it interesting that Burnham's persistence with mode-based tickets is being talked of as integrated. Like London, this is not an integrated fare structure.

Re London depends on your definition of an integrated fares structure. I personally consider it integrated (until TfL withdraws from the One Day Travelcard).

Back to GM, does this announcement mean the end of the bus+tram+train ticket? If so that's a very retrograde move.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Re London depends on your definition of an integrated fares structure. I personally consider it integrated (until TfL withdraws from the One Day Travelcard).

My personal definition of a fully integrated fares structure is one where mode is irrelevant when purchasing a ticket. If you want to have stepped fares, you do it by zones, distance or similar, never mode. And only that approach allows network decisions to be made based on best value and best effect.

Even having a separate lower bus only fare as London does leads to pressure to duplicate services; means tested reduced prices or free travel on all modes for people who can't afford the full fare are better for inclusivity.

For London this is true of Travelcards and caps, but not at a single-fare level which to me (as the caps are quite high) is problematic.

 

[Leyland Bus]

Morning all,
Some updates from BN.

Firstly, Solos 20780/93 have been dispatched for scrap, photo attached below.
Streetdeck 40754 has had the black parts added to its original yellow livery style.
Also attached are pictures of 30928, freshly painted but minus its "Bee Network" branding, which still hasn't arrived to date Pictures of 31408 will follow once our next paint buses turn up!

Note: Pictures below show two Solos on a tow wagon about to leave for scrap and two pictures of B7 30928 freshly painted into the new Bee Network livery for single decks.

 

[WWH44L]

Morning all,
Some updates from BN.

Firstly, Solos 20780/93 have been dispatched for scrap, photo attached below.
Streetdeck 40754 has had the black parts added to its original yellow livery style.
Also attached are pictures of 30928, freshly painted but minus its "Bee Network" branding, which still hasn't arrived to date Pictures of 31408 will follow once our next paint buses turn up!

Note: Pictures below show two Solos on a tow wagon about to leave for scrap and two pictures of B7 30928 freshly painted into the new Bee Network livery for single decks.

30928 looks great, a great job there . Good to see the earlier repaints getting updated too.

Are 33016/17 still your planned repaints this week?

 

[Leyland Bus]

30928 looks great, a great job there . Good to see the earlier repaints getting updated too.

Are 33016/17 still your planned repaints this week?

No, due to accident damage, we've got 40805 that's also had a broken window for its troubles...

I've attached some photos of 31408 aswell.

 

[WWH44L]

No, due to accident damage, we've got 40805 that's also had a broken window for its troubles...

I've attached some photos of 31408 aswell.

Again another smart addition.

Is 40805 a typo as that’s a Preston vehicle

 

[Leyland Bus]

Again another smart addition.

Is 40805 a typo as that’s a Preston vehicle

Yeah, 40809 one of those mornings!!

 

[esmith2k5]

Morning all,
Some updates from BN.

Firstly, Solos 20780/93 have been dispatched for scrap, photo attached below.
Streetdeck 40754 has had the black parts added to its original yellow livery style.
Also attached are pictures of 30928, freshly painted but minus its "Bee Network" branding, which still hasn't arrived to date Pictures of 31408 will follow once our next paint buses turn up!

Note: Pictures below show two Solos on a tow wagon about to leave for scrap and two pictures of B7 30928 freshly painted into the new Bee Network livery for single decks.

Anyone by chance know which Citaros are hiding in the back there? Same with the picture of 31408. Great pictures by the way, thanks for sharing.