(19 Dec 2025, 5:43 pm)inAdrian wrote You've largely reaffirmed my point. Whilst I agree with some of your criticism around buses, it's still that snobbery towards public transport (and active travel, for that matter) that questions every penny of investment. You simply don't get that with other infrastructure projects.
If we're going to encourage more people to use public transport or active travel modes, then it has to be a lot better, doesn't it? I don't blame private car owners for not wanting to use it in it's current state and cost, but that doesn't mean that investment in that infrastructure isn't important to build it to a point where people are happy to use it.
The Northumberland Line, which I mentioned in my previous post, has been a real success story for the region. Politicians prepared to take a financial gamble on the benefits reported, yet it's completely exceeded everyone's expectations. So much so that the Council is being inundated in enquiries about development alongside the line. There's dozens of places across the region that you could do the same and achieve results.
I definitely haven't reaffirmed your point.
It isn't snobbery toward public transport. It is reality based on decades of evidence of decline despite investment in bus priority measures and gimmicks (indeed, anything other than actual services really). The fact that investment in infrastructure has occurred alongside a terminal decline in service provision does not support the the notion that investing in more solid white lines is going to drive an improvement in the bus network. There is a world of difference to road infrastructure where the benefit is (generally) plain for everyone to see and experience - just dismissing a different view to your own as snobbery is not how to have a sensible debate.
I don't know anything about the Northumberland Line but if that has been about opening up new links and providing actual services it is, again, like apples and pears to bus lanes. If your argument was that investing in actual better (more frequent, direct, choice etc) routes then there would be a fairer analogy and I doubt many would argue.
(19 Dec 2025, 7:29 pm)Kimlfixit wrote Based on current frequencies, are there any current examples of bus priority measures that should be removed?
Are there any in the region that have led to a demonstrable increase in overall quality of the network (e.g. increased ridership driving increased frequency, or new connections being introduced along these corridors)?