(27 Sep 2013, 1:06 pm)eezypeazy wrote An interesting debate, and I'll be the first to admit that none of us has the full picture here.
But one pensioner, four times a week, does not a viable service make. Indeed, a 70 seater full of pensioners every hour of every day would not a viable service make, because of the 'no better, no worse off' rule imposed on bus operators. Ditto children travelling at reduced fares.
I did some maths in the Spirit Buses thread suggesting that a bus needs to make about £30 an hour to be viable and that this could be achieved with about eight passengers per hour at an average fare of £3.75. I've no idea what the fares are on the R services, nor what the concessionary reimbursement rate is. IIRC, the PVR is 4, so between them they need 32 boardings per hour (more if the average fare is lower, less if the operating costs are less than £30 per hour per bus). If its not viable, then the ITA, at its discretion, can meet the shortfall, on the basis that this provides important links for the people who do use it, and that's their right - ie., they can run buses as empty as they wish as long as they can afford it.
Apologies if this has drifted off from "GNE - latest" somewhat... Anyone care to bring us back on topic with some Latest news?
Sorry. Just one quick rebuttal before we draw a line under this debate.
In my original post in the Quality Contracts thread regarding the patronage of the 'R' series of services, I too doubted the commercial viability of these services by stating something along the lines of 'I doubt these services are money spinners'. This debate was never about commercial viability, something which we can both actually agree upon, but rather about how these services were used. I don't profess to be much of a mathematician so I'm happy to accept the figures provided, however, if a service is well-used, it's well-used regardless of whether it produces a profitable return. In the context of this debate, commercial viability and patronage should not be conflated to mean one and the same.