(28 Aug 2020, 6:47 pm)Adrian wrote Strange one that. You'd think their system would have combined those two journeys into one, as you suggest. 

I actually wonder how profitable the service is, if they're looking to expand it further. I noticed that Houchen was quoted in the press stating an average of around 1,070 a week, but that doesn't sound very healthy in the grand scheme of things. I was trying to work out some numbers on it. 

I've no idea how many of the 11 vehicles are on the road at once, but assuming:
- an estimated 9 vehicles on the road at one time 
- an estimated average of £12 an hour to run
- an estimated average that each vehicle is out for 10 hours a day

...would cost £1,080 a day or £6,480 a week to run. 

If your average fare of those 1,070 passengers a week was £3, you'd still only gross £3,210 a week. In reality its going to be a lot less than that, depending on what rebate they receive for concessions. I'd suggest its nowhere near £3 though.

Is it’s purpose ever to become profitable? Tees Flex is an effective replacement for most of the Boroughbus network. Is Flex instead of having a supported network of scheduled services, which the Tees Valley has none (bar the handful of journeys about to come in from Arriva)?

Personally, I’d measure its success by comparing passenger engagement on Tees Flex versus the same amount on money spent on supporting scheduled buses.