(29 Aug 2020, 7:23 am)James101 wrote 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.

Is it an effective replacement though? The Mayor's own numbers would suggest that less than 100 people a day are using it, if you assume that the majority are making a return trip - less than 0.02% of the population of the Tees Valley. 

If its not intended to be profitable, then in my opinion that has to be countered by showing there's a clear benefit of providing the service. I really hope that this becomes really popular and well used, but based on those numbers so far, I'm yet to be convinced whether it'll last beyond the initial 3 year contract.