Technical inconsistency forces council to withdraw contract for bus service

In May Dorset announced the award of new contracts to run subsidised public and transport services, following a major procurement process.

As part of this, the county council had identified seven key town-to-town routes that it would continue to subsidise.

One of these routes, the X12/187 service between Blandford and Dorchester, was awarded to First Hampshire and Dorset.

After the technical inconsistency came to light, the county council contacted First and other companies to say it was withdrawing the contract and would re-run the tender process over the coming weeks.

The current operator, Go South Coast (Damory), has agreed to continue to run the existing X12/187 service on the same timetable until the new contract is awarded.

Cllr Daryl Turner, the county council’s Cabinet member for natural and built environment, said: “While this delay in awarding the new contract is regrettable, the decision to withdraw and re-tender it is the right one to make sure it fully meets all requirements.

“We would like to thank First Hampshire and Dorset and Go South Coast for their cooperation and understanding.

“The issue was identified before the new service started and we have worked with the operators to make sure there will be no disruption to users of the existing service while the process is being completed.”