The 5 Bus Service route from St George’s to Lincoln has now been put out to tender by Lincolnshire County Council Transport Services, following PC Coaches commercial decision to cease operating the route from the end of May 2018.
As well as maintaining the existing route and timetable, the Transport Team are looking at various alternatives options including “assessing whether any other route or existing service can be utilised including the recently launched North of Lincoln CallConnect bus to provide some timetabled journeys for St Georges/West End. This may also be a more suitable vehicle to reflect the passenger numbers and roads in the West End. However we will now have to wait for the outcome of the tendering process to see what bids we receive and at what cost and then we can decide on how to proceed.”
LLRA and the West End Residents Association have jointly requested a meeting with the Transport Services Team for early May, when the tender process will be complete. The purpose of the meeting is to highlight the importance of the service to the Long Leys & West End communities, as well as providing community input into any potential timetable changes.
A further update will be provided when we have new information. If you have any queries on the process then please email the LLRA at LLRA@long-leys.org.
For those who are not familiar with the existing service, which runs until the end of May, see the PC coaches timetable.
It has been said that the Transport Team will be “assessing whether any other route or existing service can be utilised including the recently launched North of Lincoln CallConnect bus to provide some timetabled journeys for St Georges/West End. This may also be a more suitable vehicle to reflect the passenger numbers and roads in the West End.” It is hoped bus passes can be used otherwise people will not use it!
Privately owned Hodsons Coaches who have a fleet of vehicles to use will not be putting in a tender for the St Georges bus route. They have gone bust!
See link on https://thelincolnite.co.uk/2018/04/hodson-coaches-liquidation-confirmed/
It is understood so far that no tenders have been sent in due to the subsidy amount which had been reduced by the County Council to PC Coaches hence the company not renewing the contract.
No bus/coach company will not operate any bus service for the St Georges bus route if subsidies are either cut or curtailed.
The response so far from local residents on the LLRA web site has not been that encouraging for it appears that residents prefer to use the motor car rather than a bus! If this be so, not only there is no village shop and community services, it looks that there will be the loss of the bus service to be added to the list which the two councils promised so much in building the Urban Village on the Long Leys Road area of Lincoln in the late 20th century!
Thanks John for sharing the information. It has been very helpful.
Just on your subsidy comment; we have had no indication that the County Council have cut the existing subsidy or intend to cut the subsidy. We understand that PC coaches could see more profitable opportunities elsewhere and approached the County Council to ask if they could cut part of the St George’s route but keep all of the existing subsidy. This offer was declined by the Council who wanted to maintain the existing service. See PC Coaches statement below.
PC Coaches STATEMENT: “St. Georges Link. Following the latest review of our network of local bus services, it was clearly apparent that the St. Georges Link could not be sustained in the long-term, based on the current patronage and the financial subsidy provided by Lincolnshire County Council. Following dialogue between the local authority and ourselves we proposed alternative timetables for consideration which were regrettably deemed not suitable. Therefore this left us with no alternative but to serve notice to Lincolnshire County Council on what has become an unsustainable route. It is our understanding that Lincolnshire Council has for reasons only known to them, have not decided not to retender the contract. It is expected that the service will cease at the end of May 2018”. *
* Note this is the service provided by PC Coaches. The County Council have re-tendered the route.
There are a few questions which need clarification…
1) If the bus route is not financially viable and there is a subsidy involved, why put it out to tender?
2) The alternative bus timetable, does this mean a more frequent service and thus allowing more usage?
3) It has been said that the alternative route excludes West Parade and Hewson Road!
and 4) as with 3) part of the new route does not include the Burton Road area and the turnabout on Queen Elizabeth Road on the Ermine Estate?
5) What conditions are being laid down for any agreement if the tender is given to another bus company?
6) If there is no agreement for the tender to be acceptable, what happens next?
7) There is a possibility that there may be no bus service – what happens next?
A further question has arisen made by a local resident. The gist of the matter is this.
Lincolnshire County Council has not increased the amount of the subsidy for a number of years despite PC Coaches claiming rising costs such as maintenance, the cost of fuel, and so forth. The company did raise this as an issue but were told that it was not applicable. Surely this makes business sense for everyone concerned – not a dismissal!
So why did the County Council did not take this into account and into consideration? Otherwise the re-tendering will be a waste of time and pointless!
Can the LLRA let residents know what is the news update on keeping the St Georges bus route. For it appears that the tender in mind has been withdrawn by a private bus company not realizing the the cost involved, and the political candidates standing for Carholme Ward for next month’s local election have no clue in how to keep the bus service in tacked/going?
Hi John
There is no further information to communicate. As it states in the article above, LLRA and WERA have asked for a meeting in early May with the Lincolnshire County Council transport team to discuss the outcome of the tender and “to highlight the importance of the service to the Long Leys & West End communities”. We also have a meeting of the Carholme Community Forum on the 8 May at which the situation will be reviewed. A further update will be provided to residents when we have new information from the transport team. Our expectation is that the transport team will offer either a like-for-like service or alternatives which are as good or better
Just to clarify, Lincolnshire County Council are responsible for bus services. On 3 May there are no Lincolnshire County Council elections in Carholme. There are however elections for City of Lincoln Council.
Kind regards
Jon Davies