09 Nov 2016, 10:08 pm
#219
(09 Nov 2016, 9:30 pm)Cobalt271 Spirit ran the services commercially whereas now PCL are running it under the tendered contract so maybe there are specific demands from NCC as to what vehicles should operate.
Entirely possible, but I would have thought the same restrictions would apply to their other tendered services which are often van-operated. I suppose it comes down to choice of business model, which Andreos1 mentioned earlier. It seems PCL prefer to own their vehicles - which appears to mean they operate older, potentially less reliable buses. This is entirely understandable for a small indipendant which specialises in marginal services.
The alternative would be to go for fixed term asset leasing where they could potentially have a new bus for each contract they gain - potentially better for cashflow but likely to be more expensive overall. Personally I'd look for a middle-ground - working with an asset leasing company to identify mid-life, fuel efficient buses.
Of course it's PCL's choice how they operate and as long as they are trading and providing the services they advertise they are doing everything right.
