(23 Jul 2020, 5:15 pm)tyresmoke wrote Oh yes there is and it needs a partnership to work but last time I suggested it to them I just got told to do one basically and they were only interested in taxi companies tendering for it.
The only issue I've got with franchising is I don't trust the councils/MPs who would be in charge to run a growing network, I've seen too many times them fighting over buses not running to places that would never be commercially viable in a million years. The services Stockton Council run that are only open to residents are a good example of how they're only in it for themselves, they run the buses for free but only if you're a member of the transport scheme.
The potential franchising scheme in Manchester is hardly a glowing reference for councils taking over operation of a bus network either. Sadly it's going to take someone to take a punt on one to prove it doesn't work.
Totally agree on the council front, asking Hartlepool Borough Council to look after your buses is like asking Bernard Mathews to look after your turkey. Like everything, some councils would be good at running buses, some terrible. What's needed is a independent bus body which sets out criteria like service per population density, distance to stops etc., which councils/PTEs/combined authorities would have to satisfy until it can be proven a service doesn't carry enough passengers to meet a nationally set threshold and can be applied to be withdrawn.
The GMCA bus franchising proposal has been widely lambasted and I think it's been harsh. Criticised for accepting bus ridership will still decline? Well of course, they're not magic. It's stemming decline with a view to increase patronage in the future, more than the private sector can hope to achieve. Criticised for costing £134 million over 5 years? Yup, Greater Manchester is a big ol' place and implementing a passenger-first bus network for less than £9 per resident per year doesn't actually sound too bad. What critics don't focus on is the reports findings that franchising adds a net benifit back to the local economy at a ratio of £3 for £1 invested. It comes back down to the argument that buses do not make money - they enable money to move around.
Takes a lot to admit they got it wrong when they broke up GM Buses into North & South and Manchester's buses haven't been right since. Operators throwing their toys out the pram and saying if we suffer you all suffer too isn't going to help anyone. If they're so damn confident franchising will fail then why don't they just let GMCA crack on with it and be there to pick up the pieces when it all breaks down? Unless of course franchising is only a success for the passenger and not the operator or its shareholders - disaster.