Mayor to make decision on Peterborough and Cambridgeshire bus franchising as board members give final recommendation of approval

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) mayor Dr Nik Johnson is poised to make his final decision on bus franchising in the region.

The CPCA board met on Thursday, February 6 to discuss the proposal of a bus franchising model or, instead, the implementation of an enhanced partnership.

Six out of eight members of the board, including Peterborough City Council leader Cllr Dennis Jones, voted in favour of recommending to the mayor that he makes a franchising scheme.

East Cambridgeshire District Council leader Cllr Anna Bailey abstained from voting, while Fenland District Council leader Cllr Chris Boden did not vote.

Currently, bus services in the region are mainly run by private operators which have control over the routes, timetables, ticket options, fares and frequency of buses.

Under the proposed franchising model, the CPCA would gain control over these areas and private operators would no longer be able to independently decide to withdraw services.

Instead, operators would bid to run services under franchise contracts, with the CPCA overseeing the process and monitoring operations.

During the board discussions at Thursday’s meeting, Cllr Boden and Cllr Bailey made clear that they would not be supporting the recommendations for bus franchising.

Cllr Bailey said: “I strongly believe that this is a very far-reaching decision which will have significant consequences for the CPCA, its budget, and its precept going forward, and of course for the people and businesses in the area.

“I don’t believe this decision is right to take before the mayoral election in just 12 weeks time and until the policy aims and objectives of the new mayor are clear.”

She added: “I’m not going to support this here today for the reasons I’ve outlined. But I don’t want that to be interpreted as my never wishing to support bus franchising because it is not that.”

A total of 1,468 participants took part in a bus franchising consultation, with 63% of participants in favour of the new model and 12% against. A total of 18% neither supported nor opposed while 7% answered ‘don’t know’.

Speaking in support of a franchising model, Cllr Dennis Jones said: “The top and bottom of it is that we must provide choice for people and I think franchising is the way forward as far as this goes.

“The principle I think has been established, both in here and through the consultation, but I also think the public have spoken and we should do our level best to make this work as soon as possible, and not delay any further.”

Following a lengthy discussion about bus franchising amongst board members and the decision ultimately to recommend it to the mayor, Dr Johnson concluded: “I appreciate all the feedback and the recommendation as it stands. I’m not making an on-record public declaration about my final decision here and now.

“I need to go and have a conversation with senior officers, particularly around comms as well as to how the final decision will be managed by the combined authority, and how that will be then distributed wider.”

Dr Johnson did not give a specific time or date as to when a decision will be announced.

If Dr Johnson approves the franchising model, CPCA officers will move to a programme of implementation over the coming months, in addition to pursuing interim agreements to improve bus operation and support investment.

The CPCA would also continue to work with Greater Manchester Combined Authority as its bus franchising scheme is rolled out, to learn from their experiences.

If the mayor decides not to pursue bus franchising, the CPCA will follow a route to advance an enhanced partnership.

While this would produce benefits over the current bus service, it would give the authority less control over the routes, frequency and overall delivery of the services.

According to a combined authority report, the total operational costs for franchising would be £9.65 million.

The franchising option would require the combined authority to acquire bus depots. The capital costs of depots in the outline business case is £31 million, funded by £5 million non-ringfenced capital grant, £4 million ringfenced capital and £22 million borrowing.