(22 Sep 2021, 4:28 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote Are you really so utterly naïve to believe that it is the bus drivers who decide whether a bus service is provided on a Boxing day, or the level of service provided on a Sunday etc?  Is there any evidence that the limited service on a Sunday is anything to do with driver willingness.  Or could it be to do almost entirely with demand and profitability.

As for the statement that Boxing Day is no different to any other bank holiday, I think scores of decades of tradition in this country would demonstrate that this is clap-trap.  It’s like saying Christmas Day is no different to May Bank Holiday. 



Trying to claim we need 7 day services bank hols included to all places because other ‘service industries’ do the equivalent is also nonsense.  Shops as have already been said operate reduced hours, and in many cases local shops don’t open at all.  Yes the NHS is 24 hours via A&E but have you tried getting a GP appointment on a weekend, or pretty much anything routine.  Have you been in hospital, where they try to discharge as many as possible ahead of weekend and certainly ahead of bank holidays like Christmas and New Year?  I’m not saying there is no need for some level of service but to demonise drivers and suggest they want certain days off when other essential workers don’t is just not grounded in reality – almost all industries that can either close or massively reduce over weekends and bank holidays.  And that includes a good range of service industries.  Other than the entertainment industry I am actually struggling to think which "services" you think are provided to the same level on e.g. Boxing Day than any other day (beyond a skelton level for emergency response etc).

Have you actually read anything I've said? I never said that it was down to the drivers. I literally said it was down to the operator to keep both sides happy.

I mean, I wasn't going to bring that one up, but yeah, Christmas Day is no different either!

I also never said that they needed to operate a full service, but they need to at least operate their full network, even at a reduced frequency.