Tuesday 29 May 2012

Holloways Coaches win 90/590 tender

From VOSA:

PB0001403/33 - HOLLOWAYS COACHES LTD, COTTAGE BECK ROAD, SCUNTHORPE, DN16 1TP
  • Registration Accepted by SN
  • Starting Point: Scunthorpe Bus Station
  • Finish Point: Scunthorpe Bus Station
  • Via: Gunnes Althorpe Ealand Crowle Eastoft Luddington Garthorpe
  • Service Number: 90
  • Service Type: Normal Stopping
  • Effective Date: 09-JUL-2012
  • Other Details: Monday to Saturday
PB0001403/34 - HOLLOWAYS COACHES LTD, COTTAGE BECK ROAD, SCUNTHORPE, DN16 1TP
  • Registration Accepted
  • Starting Point: Eastoft Memorial
  • Finish Point: North Lindsey College
  • Via: Eastoft Crowle Ealand Althorpe
  • Service Number: 590
  • Service Type: Limited Stop
  • Effective Date: 04-SEP-2012
  • Other Details: College Days only
Back in April, Stagecoach proposed to withdraw the commercially operate 90 between Brigg, Scunthorpe and Crowle, and the 590 college day variant. North Lincolnshire Council then issued an emergency tender for the routes until July. It now seems Holloways Coaches have won the tender for July onwards. I would guess the Brigg to Scunthorpe section will not be replaced, as it is covered by Hornsby service 4, but interesting to note Holloways 90 continuing beyond Crowle to Garthorpe. Will this be competing with Sweyne Coaches commercially operated weekday services (and Stagecoach tendered Saturday service 357)?

Not winning the 90/590 tender will result in a PVR reduction of 3 for Stagecoach's Scunthorpe depot - more severe than April's changes and arguably bringing some of the points in this post into sharper focus.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting - I really expected Stagecoach to win the replacement for the 90. The loss of 90 between Brigg & Scunthorpe should not cause too much hardship - except for the early morning bus that goes through Scawby and Greetwell - Leaving those villages with just the 94/95, which are fine for shopping trips, but not for workers/college students.

I can see the 'new' 90 being very similar to the old 356 which I believe used to run Scunthorpe - Garthorpe every 2 hours with a PVR of 1, although we will have to wait for traveline to upload the new timetable, which is usually the first place for these things to appear.

Another 3 buses less needed in Scunthorpe though - On top of a saving of 2-3 already made in April - Another nail in the coffin?

It will leave stagecoach with only the evening/daytime 31A/32A to Tesco - which will now have a better service on a Sunday than during the week, although the 37 could easily divert there, it runs within 200 yards of Tesco already, but turns up Hilton Avenue instead - possibly another missed opportunity?

Humber Transport said...

I forgot about the 90's Scawby trips, which will surely need replacing

The issue with the 37 is that it is already on a fairly tight timetable, interworked with the 38 and a combined PVR of 1. I think even a brief diversion to Tesco would make the hourly frequency on both services unworkable on a PVR of 1, without another part of the route being cut.

Steve G said...

Potentially good news indeed.
Certainly pleased NLCC has devised and awarded a contract to start with.
Be interesting to see exact details with regard to frequency (I guess every 2hrs), vehicle spec (hopefully newer and/or lowfloor?), and fares (day returns and weekly seasons?).
Suprised to see the main route extended beyond Eastoft again, when the council havent provided for them for last few years (though Sweynes have commercially). I think this may be more to do with timetabling, and fully utilising 1 vehicle for the 2hourly service?.
Sincerely wish Holloways well with this, and hope they step up to the mark. Just hope yellow doubledeck schoolbuses arent used-though I have seen a purple lowfloor singledecker of theirs that would be ideal?.

Anonymous said...

Actually 37/38 is interwoven into no11. Since there 10 mins spare in the 11 it might be possible for the 37 to do tescos.

Better Q. Why did stagecoach service to Briggs fail? It was quicker. Where fare costly?

Humber Transport said...

"Suprised to see the main route extended beyond Eastoft again, when the council havent provided for them for last few years (though Sweynes have commercially). I think this may be more to do with timetabling, and fully utilising 1 vehicle for the 2hourly service?."
Though if Sweyne are providing a commercial service, NLC shouldn't be contracting a competing service, even if it is for efficiency purposes. And on Saturdays there maybe the stupid situation of a NLC tendered service competing with an East Riding tendered service

The more I think about it, the more I think NLC should have awarded Sweyne a de minimis contract covering weekday peaks and late afternoons when they currently don't serve Crowle. That would surely have sufficed?

Steve G said...

Agreed re situation of extending beyond Eastoft again, in competition with Sweynes (361), is a bit naughty on face of it.

I had completely forgotten the Goole route is a NLCC contract on saturdays only (357?), presumably STILL operated by Stagecoach!! Seems a waste of money having 2 contracts seemingly against each other, unless timings are co-ordinated!. How daft-3 operators through Crowle to Scunthorpe, and I imagine no ticket interavailability whatsoever.

Great minds think alike : It had also occurred to me too that this new 90 contract could still be very bare bones, with just a few am and pm journeys to extend the operating day of the basic 2hourly sweynes service. Ok for single fare users and OAPs, but again returns and seaons would be invalid on each others service.

And yes, a bare bones contract to Sweynes (inc the saturday service) would have SEEMED cost effective and logical on the face of it.

Humber Transport said...

The Saturday 357 contract is an East Riding tender
http://humbertransport.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/stagecoach-in-lincolnshire-return-to.html

David Barrett said...

Why is it that Stagecoach, and LRCC before them for that matter mess about, and ultimately mess up? Take one commercial service, the former 365, cut out a substantial chunk(Scawby)and run an hourly service competing with a well established service operated by Hornsby only to find that traffic did not materialise. Then hold a gun to the Council's head "Subsidise or we withdraw" and lose the whole lot when the remains are put out to tender. With the development of substantial shopping facilities around Berkeley Circle the service 90 did at least have the potential for connecting Ashby and Brigg to this expanding market, all thrown away in a short space of time. The words "It makes you wonder" spring to mind yet again with the attidude of this so-called public transport provider whose Head has recently been knighted for services to transport, shameful and farcical in the extreme.