(04 Oct 2023, 9:51 am)Adrian wrote Taking your point about doubling numbers, I still think he had to look at the fares. They were, and still are, vastly overpriced. It doesn't matter what a business does in trying to justify a fare being X, because it's up to a customer to decide whether that X equals value.
In a way, it's why commercial bus operations are on the most part, on life support. They cannot sustain their business, because they've failed for decades to achieve any decent level of organic growth. Costs are always going to go up; you can't avoid that, but you can improve what is coming in at the other end.
Yeah don't dispute that but the way he done it by slashing it across the board just doesn't make sense when you're making a loss. The fares now are pretty much just back to where they were before the cuts now so it didn't work but it just left a hole in the middle. Some of the fares were just stupid like £1.70 anywhere in North Tyneside and Northumberland. Without government support it's no wonder the 19 died, when it's £1.70 for a fare from Ashington to North Shields which is just unrealistic.
The County Durham fares were just as bad, £2 from Seaham to Durham, Chester Le Street to Bishop Auckland or Durham to Consett, that's not economical either, unless you've got decker loads of people without government support.
Personally, I'm surprised there hasn't been more of a push of tap in and out like Arriva has, of all operators. Personally I think you'd sell it much better to commuters a system of just tap your card in and out, you'll never pay more than £30 a week or £90 a month or whatever the fares are and if you use it less, we'll charge you less. Takes away all the confusion of zones and bollocks.