(02 Jan 2025, 3:44 pm)busmanT wrote But the Q3 clearly wasn't commercial. It reportedly was almost commercial pre-covid  but increased costs and reduced patronage (I imagine that a lot of Great Park residents now work from home part of the week) mean it can have been nowhere near in latter time.

X47 and Q3 both serving great park wouldn't have worked has there wouldn't have been enough passengers for both of them.

Anyway, Great Park west of the A1 is private land and they (Great Park Consortium) decided to give the bus service contract to Stagecoach with exclusivity.

You've made this point previously. Are you suggesting that because it's private land, they can prevent a commercial bus operator registering a service there? 

I understand that in the NGP Master Plan, the developers have a number of planning obligations around public transport, but they can't make the area exclusive to their chosen operator. A private road can still be a public place.

(02 Jan 2025, 5:40 pm)Rob44 wrote when ive been travelling to or from the rigg on the 44 i've notice more than a handful of customers ignoring the Arriva services and waiting for the Q3 both along GNR heading to town and in the haymarket itself

I think the point is that public transport has to be attractive, if you're ever going to encourage more people to use it. Whilst you're never going to please everyone, I think the modern attitude of forcing everyone to go down one corridor, instead of having choice, has long-proven to not work. 

NGP actually have a planning condition to 'increasing the attractiveness of local facilities, by providing high quality public transport and by making proper provision for  cycling and walking.'; and whilst I'd agree that is subjective, if nothing else, they've hopefully learned a lesson in how to not plan public transport changes.