(06 Feb 2025, 6:12 pm)MurdnunoC wrote This is why I'm almost against the idea of franchising now, despite being very much in favour of it when Quality Contracts were being discussed as an option over ten years ago.
The rules around running a service probably won't be as robust as many in here would like to see. Indeed, when I've questioned aspiring mayors about the subject of fines and the withdrawal of contracts in the past, they've all given incredibly vague answers which skirt around the question rather than addressing it.
Without such watertight safeguarding, then I suspect your worst-case scenario would probably be the norm, and the charitarians currently in charge of running bus services in the region will be laughing at the taxpayer whilst receiving hefty pats on the back by their paymasters and shareholders.
They need to be watertight, but like you, I've very little confidence in that being the case. There needs to be a proper penalty/service credits system in place, otherwise this risks becoming a cash-cow for organisations led by people like NF, who don't give a stuff about getting passengers from A to B.