(09 Aug 2024, 12:37 pm)PH - BQA wrote Genuinely ridiculous. 

I would support BSIP funding for the 21 if, for example, it was to extend it to a place without a bus service at present. This is using public money to subsidise what is often referred to as the flagship* Go North East route. 

Even quickly thinking about other routes which GNE have cut since 2020, this could have restored something like the X9 which would have doubled the frequency along that corridor and improved journey times on the X10. 

* Allocated vehicle standards would disagree.

Crazy isn't it? It's even worse that there's services like the 25 and 82, which are far too infrequent, literally 1/2 mile apart which don't have an evening service at all in the case of the 25.

Surely this is where the money should be going...?

If the services can't sustain a 7.5 minute service, I'm not sure how funding it to make it that will make suddenly profitable, no-one and I mean no-one is going to go to a bus stop and think 'Well I'm not using the 21, it's way too infrequent. If I had to wait 2.5 minutes less, I will use this service every day'. This is the definition of a black hole imo.

The 25 on the other hand, being every 30 minutes vs every hour is a massive game changer.

(09 Aug 2024, 5:00 pm)DeltaMan wrote Hmmm, not sure about that last point. There is a very good example in our own back yard. The NEXUS in-house bid couldn't even win it's own contracting exercise to run the Metro when DB won it

To be fair, if Nexus put a bid in at say £20,000 and that's what they were paying before it was franchised and DB comes in at £17,500 then they're doing the public a favour by reducing the costs. Take away the Nexus bid then I wouldn't be surprised if DB would do £25,000 instead. Obviously bonkers numbers but just more for the point.