(13 Jun 2022, 7:24 pm)Ambassador wrote I do think there should be something enshrined that if you abandon a commercial operation you are barred from bidding or must meet strict caveats when it comes up to tender.
I know this comment has been made a couple of times now and I'm just picking your post to quote because it's the most recent, but it would be absolutely ludicrous to suggest this, if the winning bid from the previous commercial operator is the one which is cheapest/represents best value - or are we all an advocate of taxpayers forking out even more money than they need to, to keep these services running, where the commercial operator has 'abandoned' them?
In a similar vein, should SME operators who only run contracted bus services and never take a punt on running a commercial bus service (the likes of your Gateshead Central Taxis, A-line Coaches, etc) be penalised because the only gaps in the market that they exploit are those funded by the taxpayer?