NEWPORT Transport has lost the contract to take secondary school children to and from school from September this year.

Pupils will now be picked up and dropped off by a Cardiff-based bus company expanding into the city after it won the city council tender.

The council is the only shareholder in Newport Transport.

Under EU rules, the council had to put the contract out “to tender” by inviting bids from competing companies in order to get best value.

The Argus understands the contract is worth £3.6 million over four years from 2015-2019, with the option of a two-year extension.

Newport Transport, which has run school bus services for more than a decade, lost out to New Adventure Travel, the company recently in the news for bus-back pictures of topless men and women holding signs which said: “Ride me all day for £3”.

NAT will open a depot in Newport and buy 27 new or refurbished buses and create 50 new jobs.

Kevyn Jones, managing director, said: “These services represent a further expansion of our company into the Newport market.”

But David Fouweather, Tory councillor for Allt-Yr-Yn, has written to the council raising concerns about the decision.

He said: “Children can currently use any Newport Transport bus, which allows them to take part in school activities out of normal hours.

“NAT do not run services to the majority of Newport areas so families will end up having to pay for bus fares on Newport Transport as they will probably be the only service running in that area.”

Council officer Gareth Speed replied: “It is unfortunate that Newport Transport did not win the public tender but due to the amount involved the requirement for season tickets had to be tendered under the open EU legislation rules.”

He said the council was only legally obliged to provide free transport at the start and finish of the school day, and not if pupils were late for any reason.

Under the current agreement pupils can use their passes on any Newport Transport bus between 7.30-9.30am and again between 3-5pm on school days but this was not a requirement set out in the tender, he said.

Mr Speed added: “New Adventure Travel has indicated that they will be running some additional services between 7.30-7pm and that any school pass will be valid on any of their services at any time.”

Scott Pearson, managing director of Newport Transport, said: “Newport Transport has been transporting the young people of Newport to and from high school for many years and we are disappointed to have been advised that Newport City Council have decided to place this contract with another operator based in Cardiff.

“We have not increased our prices over the years as the company feels very strongly that we are part of the community.

“Therefore we have a duty to provide that community with high-quality bus services that ensure our young people do not have concerns getting to and from school.

“It appears the tender has been awarded on price alone with no consideration of any other quality criteria.

“Moving forward, yes this is very disappointing but this will now allow the company the ability to serve the city of Newport with an enhanced comprehensive commercial network.”

Questions to Newport City Council about the deal

We asked Newport City Council how the change could affect pupils who take the bus to school. Here are the responses:

Will the contract be run along the same lines as previous school bus contracts (i.e. pupils being issued with or buying season tickets that can be used at different times of the day)?

This was not a requirement of the previous contract. There was a special concession to pupils who missed the school bus who could use their season tickets, which were bought and supplied by the council, 7.30am-9am or 3pm-5pm. New Adventure Travel has indicated it will be offering additional services in certain parts of the city between 7.30am and 7.30pm, Monday to Friday, and has advised that school season tickets will be valid on any of their services at any time.

We understand NAT Group has no depot in Newport. Should it have one as part of the contract?

This was not a requirement of the contract. However, the company has acquired a depot in the city which is expected to be operational in the autumn.

Given that Newport City Council is the main shareholder in Newport Transport, does the awarding of this contract create difficulty for a business the council effectively owns?

Newport City Council is the only shareholder but by law the company has to operate independently of the council. The council is compelled by law to go out to tender for all contracts above a certain value, including renewals. Bids are checked but then have to be awarded to the lowest tender that meets these criteria. It has to ensure it gets the best possible value for council taxpayers as long as all other criteria are met.

Can the council confirm that some secondary school head teachers have expressed disquiet over the awarding of the contract to a different service provider?

Officers from Newport City Council have been meeting with the schools that receive a direct service and have not been made aware of any concerns. Tenders are checked to ensure that the companies are able to offer a safe and reliable service for the price they are quoting. Newport City Council would not select a provider that did not meet all the necessary criteria and that includes passenger safety. In this particular tender the service was to be provided by public service buses meaning that they are operated to the law, rules and regulations of all public bus services which is governed and monitored by the Traffic Commissioner and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency as are all other public bus services across the city.