(20 Dec 2021, 10:11 am)Dan wrote From reading the BSIP, I think the argument here would be that you're adding resource into a service unnecessarily which would duplicate the offering of other services on this corridor.
The days of direct bus services here, there and everywhere are gone. Operators had already started to move away from this in favour of the hub and spoke model, but now Government guidance reiterates this, I cannot see it being likely that any operator would extend a service on an already heavily over-bussed corridor.
It is difficult to quantify how many extra passengers you would carry by offering a direct service like this, but in my own opinion I think it is unlikely that you will generate an extra £100k in revenue to pay for the extra bus (assuming it can be done in one bus - this could even be two).
If the hospital can generate hundreds of thousands of pounds in parking charges, I'm sure a bus company could work their magic and make even more. Heck, the hospitals and LA's have had to put measures in place to stop the overflow of cars, spilling on to the streets!
Assuming they don't give in after a couple of months and actually think about the long term prospects for a route - tweaking/adapting to suit passenger needs, rather than throw in the towel or wave the white flag. There could be money to be made.
As for the hub and spoke. There's nothing in the BSIP which recommends this model as far as I see.
Copied the following:
.... should then describe in outline how you and operators propose to deliver the key goals of the Bus Strategy in your area.
These are making services:
- more frequent, with turn-up-and-go services on major routes and feeder or demand-responsive services to lower-density places.
- faster and more reliable, with bus priority wherever necessary and where there is room. - cheaper, with more low, flat fares in towns and cities, lower point-to-point fares elsewhere, and more daily price capping everywhere.
- more comprehensive, with overprovision on a few corridors reduced to boost provision elsewhere and better services in the evenings and weekends, not necessarily with conventional buses.
- easier to understand, with simpler routes, common numbering, co-ordinated timetable change dates, good publicity, and comprehensive information online.
- easier to use, with common tickets, passes and daily capping across all operators, simpler fares, contactless payment and protection of bus stations.
- better integrated with other modes and each other, including more bus-rail interchange and integration and inter-bus transfers.