(14 Jun 2022, 6:02 am)DeltaMan wrote I'd be intrested to know if you had the same opinion of Spirit Buses when they gave up thier commercial routes?
I'm not familiar with Spirit Buses so can't comment.
(14 Jun 2022, 7:13 am)busmanT wrote No-one seems to worry about Stagecoach ceasing commercial operation of the 18, 32/A & 35 in Newcastle and then getting paid by Nexus to keep running them.
Indeed almost all of the Stagecoach expansion in recent times has been funded by Nexus - cross Tyne 10/11 and 317.
It makes no difference who the operator is, it is the model that is rotten. It does appear however to be a particular tactic of GNE at present however to milk the system dry given the sheer number of cancellations etc as compared to the relatively limited scale of other operator's cuts, backed up with a consultation that has drawn pretty strong criticism across the board - intended to pressure the taxpayer funding to secure the routes.
(14 Jun 2022, 8:10 am)Adrian wrote I do however think that there needs to be recognition that the current model is unsustainable. Without going down the route of franchising, the funding available is going to be finite. Yet the danger of Arriva and Stagecoach seeing Nexus pick up the pieces big time here, is likely to make them want a slice of that pie themselves. This could very quickly become a vicious circle.
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And this is the root of the problem. Operator not making enough profit, cancel services, win back said services with a whack of taxpayer cash, supposedly use this cash to "grow" the services - supposedly we then see services become commercially viable again though when has this ever happened, regardless of operator. As I said in my previous post, there's no reason (other than social and moral responsibility) for an operator to do anything other than offer up lower revenue routes, knowing they will likely win them back with a helping of extra cash to add to the coffers. The system is rotten, and the private operators are capitalising on it (some more than others).