Hornsby Service 4 Contract

Hornsby's service 4 is the main bus service between Brigg and Scunthorpe, operating via Broughton, Lakeside Reatil Park and Ashby. The main, roughly hourly, daytime service, Monday to Saturday, is commercially operated, though journeys at other times are subsidised by North Lincolnshire Council. The contract for these services has just been renewed for a further five years, and a North Lincolnshire Council report reveals some interesting details.

Firstly Hornsby Travel was the only bidder for the contract. Perhaps surprisingly Stagecoach do not even appear to have even submitted a bid, but keeping the tendered and commercial journeys with the same operator does avoid the need for passengers to purchase two tickets when travelling one way on a commercial journey and the other way on a subsidised journey.

Weekday early morning and evening subsidised journeys from Brigg extend beyond Scunthorpe Bus Station to Normanby Enterprise Park. However the use off these services have declined by 20% since last summer due to the recession and the cost per passenger is now £3.41, above the North Lincolnshire Council guideline off £3. Hoping the number of jobs increases, and recognising access to jobs is a key priority these services will continue for now, but the extension to the Enterprise Park will remain under review.

Similarly four weekday daytime services to Normanby Enterprise Park, operated under a de minimis basis (council funded, but not tendered) have also seen declining use, and these too remain under review.

It is a similar situation with the limited Saturday evening service between Brigg and Scunthorpe. Usage varies greatly and costs have risen by 29%. They are not regarded as a priority by the council and remain under review.

There is also currently a basic Sunday and Bank Holiday daytime service between Brigg and Scunthorpe which costs an 'acceptable' £2.31 per passenger. Hornsby Travel have proposed a more clockface and earlier timetable for these journeys that is better for Sunday shopping. This has been approved by North Lincolnshire Council and should start in September.

Overall cost of this package is £43,095 per year, up from the current £40,122. Per day the cost is:
Weekday: £135
Saturday: £60
Sunday: £110