(31 Jul 2020, 5:40 pm)RobinHood wrote No bus company (private owned) will simply hand over their business to franchising without essentially the franchisee buying it first. A bus route is effectively their product in much the same way Tesco sells bread. You wouldn't walk into Tesco and take all of the bread to sell it yourself without actually paying for the right to do so?

Only then, do the likes of GNE, Stagecoach and Arriva essentially bid to operate work.

Nobody yet has managed to get franchising in place and running because of the cost associated to get it off the ground. Doesn't matter how much propaganda or positive words said, even Manchester haven't managed it yet.

Wasn't disputing that but its a bit obvious that the franchisee would have to purchase the product and its a long term project but something in years to come would be profitable providing the right people run it and I'm sure some companies wouldn't turn down cash upfront for their services especially during this time.

I'm sure Manchester has started, by the way, some Diamond North West and Stagecoach routes have already swapped hands as a result of awards. It's not propaganda, it works when it is managed correctly. There are either incentives for good service levels or penalising for poor service levels. Both of which will drive up the customer experience.