I see Roger did a webinar about secrets of a successful bus operation this week and since I know there are loads on here who are fans of his, link is below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFL3DelnPp8

He is not my cup of tea, but it would be foolish not to listen to him.

It was actually a really interesting 90 minutes from somebody with an actual track record of growing passengers numbers.

I found myself agreeing with virtually everything he said.

Who is Roger French and why should we listen to him?
This is just a genuine question as I have no idea what he's done or who he is, just wanted to see if anyone can give me an answer.

(15 Feb 2024, 4:50 pm)nova347 wrote Who is Roger French and why should we listen to him?
This is just a genuine question as I have no idea what he's done or who he is, just wanted to see if anyone can give me an answer.

He was Managing Director of Brighton and Hove buses for a number of years and now is a bit of a blogger and goes by the name of Bus And Train User

https://busandtrainuser.com/

https://twitter.com/BusAndTrainUser

I found this interesting, I agreed with most parts

But I also would like to see him run GNE and how his theory works in principle. In a pro sustainable, left leaning area like Brighton with it’s green led council and pro bus agenda and its relatively excellent public transport (incl trains) I imagine growth is incredibly easy to achieve

(17 Feb 2024, 12:03 am)Ambassador wrote I found this interesting, I agreed with most parts

But I also would like to see him run GNE and how his theory works in principle. In a pro sustainable, left leaning area like Brighton with it’s green led council and pro bus agenda and its relatively excellent public transport (incl trains) I imagine growth is incredibly easy to achieve

Agreed. 

I'd argue MG tried to replicate the model from Reading and whilst Covid got in the way, there were other factors which meant it would never work.

Having a box ready approach will never work in each and every example.

(17 Feb 2024, 9:21 am)Andreos1 wrote Agreed. 

I'd argue MG tried to replicate the model from Reading and whilst Covid got in the way, there were other factors which meant it would never work.

Having a box ready approach will never work in each and every example.

It was never going to work for a sub urban network. Mind that said GNE is a right minefield of a network as it's urban, sub urban and even rural with Hexham. Least at Arriva (mostly suburban) and Stagecoach (mostly urban) have a consistent network.

Mind one I did notice at the questioning at the end is his attack on GoAhead, which is as rare as finding a needle in a haystack, on about them being took over by private investment groups who have no connections in British transport. Regardless to our feelings of GoNorthEast, one thing that can be said is it has got much much worse since the takeover, in whatever metric you want to look at it. 

Getting 15 year junk from London never happened under the previous ownership, which are completely unsuitable for the work which never happened under the previous ownership and the lack of spend is noticeable across the board.

It's a massive point imo, if you're only given 50p to run the network then regardless to how good you are, then your hands are tied especially when the 50p wasn't enough for staff wages and resulted in one of the worst strikes to blight the company.

(17 Feb 2024, 1:30 pm)Storx wrote It was never going to work for a sub urban network. Mind that said GNE is a right minefield of a network as it's urban, sub urban and even rural with Hexham. Least at Arriva (mostly suburban) and Stagecoach (mostly urban) have a consistent network.

Mind one I did notice at the questioning at the end is his attack on GoAhead, which is as rare as finding a needle in a haystack, on about them being took over by private investment groups who have no connections in British transport. Regardless to our feelings of GoNorthEast, one thing that can be said is it has got much much worse since the takeover, in whatever metric you want to look at it. 

Getting 15 year junk from London never happened under the previous ownership, which are completely unsuitable for the work which never happened under the previous ownership and the lack of spend is noticeable across the board.

It's a massive point imo, if you're only given 50p to run the network then regardless to how good you are, then your hands are tied especially when the 50p wasn't enough for staff wages and resulted in one of the worst strikes to blight the company.

Oxford CityBus has expanded. As has Brighton and Hove and Go South Coast. I think even Go East Anglia might even be in a more stable position. That's how far GNE has fallen within Go Ahead

In the presentation, I personally liked the inclusion of Lothian and Nottingham City Transport as commercial bus operators. Which of course they actually are!

(17 Feb 2024, 1:49 pm)DeltaMan wrote Oxford CityBus has expanded. As has Brighton and Hove and Go South Coast. I think even Go East Anglia might even be in a more stable position. That's how far GNE has fallen within Go Ahead

In the presentation, I personally liked the inclusion of Lothian and Nottingham City Transport as commercial bus operators. Which of course they actually are!

Yeah you're right there, really questionable what their long term motivations are with GoNorthEast lately especially now there's serious maintenance problems leaking out which even Redcar would be in with a chance of winning award for not being the worst. There's so many times you can add sticking plasters on buses to get them on the road.

I did notice that and he was quite complimentry about them aswell. By god does he hate TFL though and any form of franchising even known some of his points are valid. Having the likes of Gannon and Kim McGuiness in charge, is a right receipe for disaster.