(03 Apr 2020, 12:53 am)Big O wrote If this is an earnest question I'll answer it but if not I won't get into it with you. The fares up here are ridiculously priced up here. Why can't they dip into their deep pockets to pay their way through this situation?If they had such deep pockets don't you think staff would have been pushing for a higher wage rise last year?
Not to mention that the figures have been estimated earlier in this thread of how much the weekly cost is for 100 drivers per depot. With a company that has nearly 3000 staff across GNE and EY, the figure to "pay their way" will be astronomical.
It's far easier for the London operators to collect their fares and have higher footfall simply because it's all operated under the TfL banner. With the Oyster card you can get on any service no matter which company is operating it. Up here, you have competition - the Coast Road is an obvious example. GNE competing with Arriva on a busy route - someone buying an Arriva weekly ticket can't use it on GNE. You have to have a Network One ticket up here for multi operator.