(10 Jan 2019, 3:11 pm)S830OFT wrote Well that Northumberland County Council is dodgy, it has been alleged that they gave the contracts out on a basis of the lowest bid which is likely the reason behind why the 15 is so terrible at operating and how local residents tend to no longer trust this service. Think it is time Nexus expanded out of Tyne and Wear.
That's how the majority of councils and PTE's across the country give out tendered contracts - lowest bid wins. It's only until recently (the past two years is it?) that Nexus now take other factors into consideration in deciding the bid-winning operators - which is why the likes of Go North East have picked up vast amounts of school and passenger service contracts in recent years.