(18 Feb 2020, 11:58 am)omnicity4659 wrote Nothing to do with having to fund Euro 6 mods, paying their staff in line with inflation and buying new buses then? Not to mention the fluctuating fuel prices which are bouncing up and down by 10p every so often...
As others have said, the majority of customers won't have a clue what Euro 6 is or means. I'd be surprised if the majority are interested in operational matters either.
Interested re: the comment on paying staff in line with inflation. Are you saying they're consistent at making pay offers either above or inline with inflation?
(18 Feb 2020, 9:12 pm)Andreos1 wrote Surely a business like Stagecoach have bought their fuel well in advance? Most if not all of the big operators hedge their fuel.
However going back to the other points you raise, they might all be true. Except that isn't what SNE are telling the media.
They're telling the media that traffic is causing issues and to counter that traffic, they're having to use extra buses.
Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on...e-17760592
We all know that raising prices isn't going to reduce the amount of traffic on the road. I would hazard a guess and say that it may have the opposite effect and increase traffic on the road.
Spot on. There's a lot of talk from operators at the moment about congestion and making buses (and public transport in general) more attractive to try and combat it, but I'm not sure what they hope to achieve by further pricing people away from it.
Stagecoach's operation in the North East is very much no-frills. They have a national model and they continue to make square pegs fit into round holes, wherever they look to operate. There's no attempt to even try and encourage people out of their car, unlike GNE for example, who have continued to innovate over a number of years and try new things. The new buses and spec on the X30, in my opinion, being a really good example.
Its going to take more than just the local authority and Government to help combat congestion. The real challenge starts at the operators doors.