Previous News Items from 2005 Game cycle.
26 January 2006 Lynx Metro wins five routes for operation from our own Edmonton garage. Routes W6, W10, W11, W13 and W16 were awarded to the company in Round 94. The garage hunt begins next round as space is becoming a problem in some areas of our operation. Lynx Metro now runs 50 contracted services to TfL. On a bad note, the yearly taxes are about to be imposed.
4 Janaury 2006. Happy New Year to all our customers. The year started well for us with the announcement that we'd won yet more routes in Round 93. Lynx Metro was awarded the contracts for Riverside routes RV1 and RV2 (based at Camberwell), and T31/T32 Tramlink Feeder services (based at Orpington). We now operate 527 vehicles from four owned garages and 8 leased bases around the capital. With Orpington and Dartford garages full, Lynx Metro is on the hunt in south London for more garages!! Watch this space!
29 December 2005.No updates for a while! Lynx Metro has had quite a few successful rounds since acquiring garages in the last auction. Dartford and Orpington are now full, and Camberwell has over 100 buses allocated to it. MD Mark Tennyson is delighted with the company's success and looks forward to more routes next year. Only Route 444 is allocated to Edmonton, as is our spare fleet of Routemasters and Volvo Presidents
11 October 2005: In the latest garage auction, Lynx Metro has secured some new homes for its ever expanding network. We are now the proud owners of Camberwell (Q), Edmonton (EM) Orpington (Y) and Dartford (DT) garages. Some routes have been moved out of TfL leased garages as a result, the most notable being the 176/N176, which are now allocated to Camberwell, as well as out flagship 188 which crosses the road. Newly acquired 343 and N343 also help to fill our new home, which will also be our new Head Office. MD Mark Tennyson loves SE5 and is often out of the office, taking short walk to Elephant to watch over the crew changeovers of our beloved Route 188! Routes 138 and 146 from Beddington are now at Orpington along with Route 269, with our other south-east London tenders 229, 244 joining newly won Routes 422 and 428 at Dartford. Route 444 takes up pole position in our north London base at Edmonton, although 210 remains at Lea Valley for the time being.
Route 315, 360 and 276 and 395 remain in their leased bases at Battersea, Waterloo and Stratford for the time being, although it is possible Routes 395 and 360 could move to Camberwell pending a scoping excerise by the Planning Department. Routes 127, 163 remain at Streatham until new premises can be found,as does the Lynx Express, and west /south west London services on Routes 245, 281, 285 and N285. More news and more news as we grow. Watch this space!!
21 August 2005: Lynx Metro has been successful in the last two rounds, scooping routes 276, 281, 285, N285 and 315. The Planning Team eagerly await the results from Round 83 too, where bids for new Route 334, Routes 343/N343, 351, 354 and 360 have been submitted.
Route 276 will operate from leased premised at Stratford. Route 281 from Brentford, Routes 285/N285 from Hayes. Route 315 was extended to Shaftesbury Estate replacing G1 over this section and gained a frequency increase on Mondays to Saturdays. Route 315 will join the Lynx Express 705 at Battersea.
10 July 2005: Round 75 results were "a complete shock" for Managing Director, Mark Tennyson at the meeting of shareholders tonight. Routes 229, 244 and 269 will be added to the company's growing portfolio, along with Route 245 in west London, a breakthrough for Lynx Metro in this part of London. The services will be operated from leased premises at Crayford, Belvedere and Perivale. Planning Manager, Sophie O'Connor, just back from sun and booze (..etc) on the South Coast was "delighted" with our results this round. The expansion puts pressure on the Strategy and Policy boys to win decent garages at the next garage auction. The MD warned that the poor show last time "would not be tolerated". Internet searches for jobs commenced instantly. Marketing, (still out on the lash, hiding from the MD) were urged to return and finish what they've started.
Express Travel UK also did well this round - well done to them and indeed all those successful operators. It is definitely harder and harder to win and retain routes as all players seem to have "upped the anty". Damn Good Stuff, that's what we say!!!
29 June 2005: Route 210 gained in round 74, to be operated with 10.8m Dennis Darts from Lea Valley.
20 June 2005: All aboard the Lynx Express Results from Round 73 saw Lynx Metro's "stonking proposal" accepted. Route 705 will be relaunched with 12 new Optare Tempo vehicles based at Battersea carrying Lynx Express branding. The re-vamped service will operate all day long at increased frequencies as previously operated by the East Thames Coaches, the incumbent operator. During the daytime on Mondays to Saturdays, buses will operate every 15 minutes between Paddington and Liverpool Street with more buses during the early morning and late evening on all days of the week, to improve connections with late night tubes, trains, buses and coaches. The service will also have more stops, bringing more connections!
Further details to be posted on the Routes and Operations page shortly! We hope the improvements will be welcomed by those who did not find the service useful before.
Lynx Metro came second place for Route 201 and all other bids for the other routes bombed out. Mark Tennyson, MD of Lynx Metro was said to be taking the news "quite well". Sophie O'Connor, Planning Manager was reported to be getting "blind drunk" in a bar in Hove as the Lynx Express concept "probably saved her job!" So, where is the management team if Marketing are still in a cellar in Chiswick and Sophie has swanned off to the south coast? Who knows. Doesn't matter really!!!!
We extend our congratulations to all of the successful operators in this round.
16 June 2005: Lynx Metro has submitted bids for the re-tendered route 186, and Routes 196, 197, 200, 201, 203, 208 and what Planning Manager, Sophie O'Connor described as "a stonking proposal" for the re-vamp of flagging Route 705 in Round 73. Following the relative success of recent rounds, we hope for celebrations and not tears when the results are announced! Here's hoping!
12 June 2005: Lynx Metro wins Routes 176, N176 and 188.
After a break from bidding, Lynx Metro surprised itself by gaining it's first double deck routes! Routes 176 and N176 will be operated from Beddington Cross with a fleet of 27 Dennis Arrows, whilst Route 188 will be crew operated by a fleet of twenty-nine traditional Routemasters from new leased premises at Walworth. Lynx Metro came second place to Tangy-Tango Buses for Route 192 and bombed out on Routes 177, 178, 179, 180 and 190. Well done to all the successful operators for these routes.
Planning Manager, Sophie O'Connor was "delighted" with the awards for Round 71 and the Marketing Team were urged "to sort out the website and design a livery for our double deck buses". None of the Marketing Team were available for comment, believed still to be hiding from the Managing Director, in a pub in Chiswick! ( No wonder we didn't get the 190!!)
28 May 2005: Round 69 results announced today saw Lynx Metro awarded Route 163, but Route X54 will not be progressed. Route 163 will be operated from the Streatham base with a fleet of thirteen 10.2m Dennis Darts, with ELC Spryte bodywork. The South London Bus Company was awarded Route 164. Congratulations to them.
The Marketing Team have been tinkering with the website, with some changes they hope you'll all like!
8 May 2005: The tender game is taking a break for a two to three weeks.
The bidders for the retendered Routes in Round 69 will have to wait with baited breath to find out the results. Surfing the net for new jobs is at an all time high at Lynx Metro HQ! Check back here for updates on how we did when the results for Round 69 are announced.3 May 2005: Limited Stop Route X54 was resubmitted, this time operating to the City and Holborn Circus instead of the West End. Planning Manager, Sophie O'Connor believes "this time, I think we got the route and our market right. We just have to wait and see if TfL agrees." Lynx Metro also submitted bids for the retendered Routes 163 and 164. Mark Tennyson, Managing Director was reported to be "hopeful" after the "whipping" in Round 68.
1 May 2005: The Planning Department were once again on the internet looking for work, as MD Mark Tennyson broke the news that Lynx Metro got a"whipping" in the latest tender rounds. The Company's most ambitious bidding round, in terms of costs, (since our first feeble attempts, including Routes 72,96, 99, 108, 110, 116 and 117), for Routes 151, 152, 156, 159 , N155 and N159 failed, along with attempted East and Central London forays for Route 150 and 153. So much for not building your house on sand!
Well done to all those successful bidders in Round 68.
A proposal to run an Limited Stop route to Paddington from Wallington and Rounshaw was considered by Transport for London but not progressed. The Planning Department, once they have finished surfing for new jobs on the web, will resubmit. Lynx Metro did come second for Routes 152 and 159 and the postmortem is awaited. The Marketing Department, headed by Tristan Sussex-Hampshire have decided to go out and do market research (i.e hide from the boss in the pub!) Retroline, revered North London operator has launched Retrobus, designed to frustrate us south of the river operators...and picked up Route 355 in his first swoop!
23 April 2005: Success again! Lynx Metro awarded Routes 138, 146 and 444. Routes 138 and 146 will be operated by five Optare Solos minibuses from Beddington Cross garage. Route 444, one of our 'forays' into North London, will be operated from Lea Valley garage, by Volvo B6LE midibuses.
17 April 2005: Lynx Metro wins its first route! Celebrations all round as Lynx Metro secured the contract to operate Route 127. This had previously been operated by eXpress Travel UK. Our operation, from Streatham garage will use 10.8m Dennis Darts with extra capacity and an increase to the Sunday service. Sadly, the Planning Department messed up the Route 133 Routemaster bid! There was no further discussion of this subject after the tenth bottle of Champagne had been consumed.
7 April 2005: Lynx Metro was unsuccessful in its bids for Routes 110, 112, 116 and 118. Managing Director, Mark Tennyson threatened the entire Planning Department with dismissal if they "didn't pull their fingers out and get us some contracts". Union representatives at Lynx Metro were unavailable for comment.
30 March 2005: Despite coming second for Route 99, Lynx Metro failed to secure a wooden spoon medal for Routes 96 and 108. Use of the internet at Lynx Metro HQ has been banned by the Managing Director, Mark Tennyson as "they spend all their time looking for new jobs instead of doing enough work to keep the one they've got". Better luck next time! Well done to all the successful bidders.
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