The latest notices published on the Registered Local Bus Services site.
As always click through for more details including timetables and maps. (although dont bother just yet as there is nothing much to see that's not detailed below!)
New Notices
First South West Ltd
The summer season registration for the Dartmoor Explorer. The other half of this service has yet to appear in my download so this wont be the full service!
| Licence | Route | Start Point | End Point | Effective | Notes |
| PH0004983.622 | Dartmoor Explorer | Exeter Bus Station | Postbridge, opposite National Park Visitor Centre | 09-Jul-2023 | Daily Every three hours |
Stagecoach Devon Ltd
- The replacements services for the services given up by Go Devon.
- Gunnislake circular Sundays
| Licence | Route | Start Point | End Point | Effective | Notes |
| PH1020951.034 | 5 5A 5B 5C | Exeter Bus Station | Crediton / Chulmleigh | 04-Jun-2023 | Route and timetable variation |
| PH1020951.395 | 5A | Crediton | Okehampton | 04-Jun-2023 | Monday to Saturday |
| PH1020951.397 | 5B | Great Torrington Church | Barnstaple Bus Station | 04-Jun-2023 | Monday to Saturday |
| PH1020951.399 | 5B | Crediton | Great Torrington | 04-Jun-2023 | Monday to Saturday |
| PH1020951.257 | 21C | Croyde Bay | Bideford | 16-Jun-2023 | Operates from 16 -18 June 2023 for the Ocean Festival |
| PH1020951.380 | 52 | Plympton | Derriford Hospital | 12-May-2023 | Route and timetable variation |
| PH1020951.400 | 198 | Gunnislake Rail Station | Gunnislake Rail Station | 28-May-2023 | Gunnislake Circular - Sundays only |
| PH1020951.393 | NASS (NASS Festival) | Bath and West Showground | Castle Cary Rail Station | 06-Jul-2023 | Shuttle bus service between Bath and West Showground and Castle Cary Rail station |
Welcome back for the Dartmoor Explorer, for the Summer holidays.
Can someone fill in the missing bits and hazard a guess what has actually happened here for those struggling to follow the plot… stagecoach said they didn’t want to do the 5 bits beyond Crediton any more so threw them in. PCB/Go presumably calculated how much they wanted to run them, bid, won and then they decided after only 6 months or so that they don’t want to do it either, so then, somehow it’s back to Stagecoach who, I thought, didn’t want it any more.?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteIf someone has bid to run it for the council then aren’t they committed to do that without spitting their dummies only part way through the contract?
Doesn’t it demonstrate some level of incompetence/serious miscalculation in the bidding process for PCB/Go to start but then Jack it in so quickly?
Are we saying that DCC went back to Stagecoach and they said “well, we will take it back, but you’ll have to pay us more than before?”
Operators can give notice on contracts but agree seven months was rather quick! Undoubtedly Stagecoach has bid far higher as it knows Go-ahead couldn't make the contracts pay (Stagecoach had creamed off the peak flows and kept a frequent Exeter-Crediton 5) and the council was unlikely to find another operator with bases in both Exeter & Barnstaple willing to take a larger contract on. Hence services are significantly reduced to make them affordable to the county plus loadings were generally very poor off-peak anyway.
DeleteI'm more inclined to think that Go South West was offered a short-term contract to operate the routes after Stagecoach pulled out due to its driver shortage at the time. Go South West has chosen not to continue with the routes and Stagecoach now has sufficient staff to provide an alternative service.
DeletePCB put in the lowest bid and ended up operating at a huge loss. They effectively were running the 377(5C) for free so couldn’t sustain it. The operation was very unreliable anyway with daily breakdowns, trips not running or running extremely late and in some cases extremely early…
DeleteProbably the same will happen in Cambridgeshire as Go Whippet aren't doing well with the routes they took over from Stagecoach last October
ReplyDeleteWith a bit of luck Stagecoach can get the other Plymouth city contracts off Go Ahead next time around
DeleteThe other reg for dart puts it back to plymouth not gunnislake
ReplyDeleteI saw the Plymouth Royal Parade starting point too. Hope all the services come through to Plymouth to make it more use to us in Plymouth. I am sure Plymouth should make more money and fit in with college runs etc better than guineslake
DeleteIt starts day after duchy/bicton break up and finishes the day before they go back so shouldn't interfere with college operations
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