Supported Bus Services

Cumberland Council is awarding contracts for the operation of Supported Bus Services.

These services form a critical element of Cumberland's transport network, ensuring continued provision of bus services where the commercial operation is not viable and supporting access for people to employment, education, healthcare and essential services across both urban and rural communities.

Cumberland Council has a proactive role in shaping the local bus network, supported by government investment through Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding and also the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) funding.

The council tendered for 15 bus routes. The Invitation to Tender (ITT) advised that due to funding constraints, not all services could be supported. As also advised in the ITT, following evaluation of tenders against the published award criteria, services were prioritised based on an assessment of tendered costs and current passenger usage data to calculate an estimated subsidy cost per passenger journey. Routes providing the best value for money were prioritised for award within the available budget.

Following this, contracts are to be awarded to one provider for 11 routes, for a term of 12 months (with no extension periods available). Contracts will not be awarded for 4 routes.

The overall value of the 11 contracts is £2,531,347 excluding VAT.