(16 Dec 2022, 11:01 am)Andreos1 wrote I agree. It has been a huge focus. I've said it for years - but I don't think it works. Maybe the numbers and state of the network back the claims up.
Inevitably, we get the patter that 'people talk about it, so it must be working'. Really? Cut after cut, after rebrand, after paint job. That would tend to say otherwise.

The network is the issue. That's where the hard miles need putting in and it needs redesigning.
Bizarrely, it doesn't seem to be happening. We just keep seeing the same old, over and over again. With those cuts I mentioned above being thrown in to the mix.

Those cuts to routes and staff will save some money. It might stabilise the numbers on balance sheet. Will it grow the numbers? Doubt it.

Regarding the redundancies. I reckon they're going to be saving a 6 figure sum. Not massive and certainly not enough to save the company overall. But added together with other savings, it might balance things out a little.
Then what? More cuts? More cost savings?
At some point there needs to be growth. I'm unsure when (if ever) that's going to happen.

I think the whole "let's brand everything" is done. While I don't think they're the only companies with financial issues by a long shot, we are seeing cash issues with GNE and Transdev. As you suggest, those in the Ten Percent Club spent the past few years shouting from the rooftops about how branding is the key to recovery - surely if that was the case then GNE and Transdev would be flush with cash. 

I do think the X-Lines idea in principal was good but became somewhat messy, similar to the rollout of Arriva's MAX and Sapphire. I also wonder how good the initial business case was behind some of the routes that were converted, given how quickly they were dropped? After that though, things like Sunderland District, East Durham Explorer etc... Ultimately it all comes down to the old MD, and the question of if they were the right fit for that situation. Horses for courses and all that. 

There seems to be a change of approach with Featham, or at least a recognition of the situation the company is in. Cutting say £675k/year (using UK average wage - I doubt many will be that high though) in wages will definitely help balance some of it I reckon. Looking at LinkedIn he's bringing in folk from his time at Arriva to help as "Business Improvement Managers", evidently wants people he can trust to go and do the dirty work. You'd think that network changes will follow, but I imagine they'll want to do it properly if they are going to make huge changes - and that sort of project will require a fairly large chunk of data and a good few months of planning as a minimum. We'll probably see other changes across the business to start off with, beginning with these staff cuts and the rumoured selling off of the coaches. 

I think growth, in any company truth be told, is a little way off. Driver shortages need to be addressed, then there'll need to be growth in confidence from the travelling public. To get growth to anywhere near pre-Covid there'll also need to be frequency improvements, which will likely involve investment in the fleet given most companies have reduced fleet size over the last couple of years.