(12 Apr 2020, 2:04 pm)Andreos1 wrote So where do we see this in practice? Are punters more used to Omnidekka's, now seeing lower fares now the StreetDecks are operating?
Did fares come down when the B9's were replaced on the X9/10?
Solars being replaced by Streetlites should have seen lower fares, rather than the increases they saw on the 20's...
Are you forgetting about the fact Go North East's bus fares have been largely frozen (if not reduced!) for the past two years? Very few people are paying more for their bus fares now, compared to two years ago.
I believe streetdeckfan shared an insight into Go North East's profitability recently. Certainly not making a head-turning amount of profit. So, if incentives such as BSOG weren't there and the company wanted (or needed!) to maintain existing levels of profitability, I don't think they'd be in a position to freeze and/or reduce bus fares as they have done for the past two years, or invest in as many new vehicles (to improve reliability, customer experience etc) as they have done. If that didn't happen, would more passengers have ditched the bus and started travelling by car? There's lots of questions that neither of us, nor anyone else, know the answer to, here...