Failure to deliver results in loss of contract - Somerset schools

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From yesterday -

https://somersetnewsroom.com/2017/09/25/replacement-school-transport-arranged/

Parents at ten schools in Somerset have been informed of new arrangements after Somerset County Council ended a school transport contract today.

Alternative transport arrangements have been put in place to transport 437 students to and from the schools from tomorrow morning. This afternoon the council terminated its contract with Avalon Coaches due to performance concerns.

[Article Continues]

Somerset County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services Councillor Frances Nicholson said: "Avalon Coaches have failed to meet our standards recently. Issues include school transport failing to arrive at all and significant delays to journey times. Somerset County Council has therefore instructed new suppliers to run Avalon’s former transport services from tomorrow morning."

[Bus Queen]

I believe that The buses of Somerset have taken over some the cancelled routes

[LiskeardRich]

They are operating them from bridgewater depot with Scania Coaches

[Chris from Nailsea]

_Cough ... Bridgwater. 

[grahame]

And another one bites the dust - from Somerset News Room

Somerset County Council has stepped in to organise alternative school transport after a local bus company ceased to operate.

The Council was notified by Coombs Travel today that it will be ceasing to operate from tomorrow (4 Oct). Coombs Travel runs eight school bus contracts for the authority.

With the support of other operators, council officers have managed to find replacement services for all of the routes for tomorrow and will be making permanent arrangements as soon as possible.

Schools and parents are being notified about changes to bus operators and will be kept updated on any further changes. This article will also be updated.

Councillor John Woodman, Cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said: “This is an unfortunate situation completely out of our hands that we have had to respond to with no notice.

“We have done everything we can to avoid disruption and I’d like to say a big thank you to the operators and our staff who have pulled together to make sure there are services to get the children to school.

“Hopefully it will all work smoothly from tomorrow, but we’d ask for parents for extra patience and please keep checking for updates”.

The schools whose services will be provided by a different operator tomorrow are:

Kings of Wessex Secondary school (Cheddar) Hugh Sexeys Middle School (Blackford), Fairlands Middle School(Cheddar), King Alfred’s School (Burnham-on-Sea).

With removal of the contract with Avalon a week ago, and with the collapse of Coombs Travel, independent bus availability in Somerset seems to be shin king.  One wonders where the extra buses will come from to replace those lost, especially considering that there was a lack of available buses in the area prior to the latest collapse - witness GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s failure to find road replacements when the Yeovil to Castle Cary line was closed all day Monday.

TravelWatch SouthWest is at Taunton on Saturday ... late sign ups welcome (send me a message); somewhat appropriately, this time the event's speakers will be focused more towards buses than trains.