(09 Feb 2025, 9:38 pm)ne14ne1 wrote No, think longer term. Think about creating a better transport system.
With buses back in public control we’d be able to set the spec of vehicles so why hinder our choices when any new or replacement bus stop/shelters could be given an extra 5 minutes thought before installation. It’s not going to cost them.
I think once we have franchising (and hopefully, eventually public ownership), then I think we can start to take a strategic view of how routes, vehicles and infrastructure all play a part in the passenger journey.
It's been difficult under privatisation, and it inevitably comes down to a chicken/egg situation. Where lots of money has been invested in infrastructure, it ends up underused or not at all, because there's a complete disconnect between operators, the PTE and Local Authorities. Gateshead and Centrelink is a cracking example of that, but there's numerous others, such as the West-bound bus lane on the Felling bypass between Lingey Lane junction and Heworth Interchange.
Anyone who used the Washington services in the 1990s will remember how bad that traffic used to get, yet since the journeys were sped up, frequencies and services were cut. Why would any council want to invest on the basis the operator could change their mind, and more to the point, how would they ever build a business case to seek Govt funding.