(27 Oct 2020, 2:32 pm)Andreos1 wrote If and when this whole covid19 thing ends, passengers or potential passengers will have found alternatives if their services have ended or reduced in frequency. 
I can't see the majority returning to public transport if they've invested in a car or found out that taxis are cheaper and often more convenient.

I do think operators need to be creative and need to think about how to increase the popularity of those quieter services on an evening.

I think travel patterns will dramatically change, now that employers are seeing the benefit of homeworking - something that was once seen as a skive opportunity.

But that isn't the biggest barrier; its people's perceptions of travelling on public transport and the cleanliness. Operators are doing a lot, some a lot more than others, to ensure high cleaning standards, but the message just isn't reaching the people that it needs to. Or convincing those it is.

Channel 4's Dispatches were out swab testing several public places - Buses actually came out really positively from it: https://metro.co.uk/video/dispatches-swa...e-2277984/

You're also right that creativity is required. The 24 hour ticket that GNE has introduced is great and offers a bit more flexibility. The evening ticket is also a positive, but only because you now pay a representative fare for the level of service received after 7pm. As you would in any other walk of life. It doesn't actually encourage me to use a bus on an evening though, because I still know that I'm going to spend most of my time waiting around in the cold! 

Perhaps a different kind of creativity is needed? Operators of course need people back on their buses, but businesses are going to need people back in their workplaces and councils/retail alike needing people back on their high streets, maybe we need to consider something like local transport taskforces? Get all the key stakeholders together and work on a mutual way forward.