Manchester’s buses are back under public control: this is how to run local transport
Cat Hobbs
You know, see how it works first?
Manchester’s buses are back under public control: this is how to run local transport
Cat Hobbs
You know, see how it works first?
It would require a supreme feat of evil genius to make Manchester’s buses worse than they are, but if that competency resides anywhere it’s with the council.
Transport for London is of course SO successful.
Available, economical, efficient. Pick any two. If under bureaucratic control , pick none.
I’ve not used the buses here in Brisbane since they started refusing to take cash. So I can’t say how they’d compare to the UK.
I like the way you think, Manchester. Forcing the 98% of people who don’t use buses at all to pay for the 2%. Next up heavily subsidised bicycles for the 2%.
“Public control”. Because the bus companies and their passengers aren’t the public. Lefty thinking in a nutshell.
Remember when they deregulated the buses and the Left started complaining there was too many of them? Happy days…
There is (or was) a free bus route in Auckland NZ. We tried to use it once but couldn’t get on because it was packed with students avoiding the horrendous demands of a fifteen minute stroll while denying use of the bus to codgers, invalids, women with children, and the heavily laden.
The world’s mightiest brains are not deployed on bus policy.
“Public money makes up 40% of bus company revenue, but the public has no control over fares, nor the vast majority of routes and timetables.”
The vast majority of routes and timetables require no, or little subsidy. The bus from Swindon to Amazon is rammed. It doesn’t need a subsidy. Therefore, the state gets no say in the route. That 40% goes on lots of a relatively small number of rural buses that cost a shitload of subsidy, which the state then gets to dictate the route, especially since government capped fares at £2. So, Swindon to Oxford, £2. And about 10 people buy a ticket. For a journey that takes 40 miles and an hour and a half. The subsidy isn’t 40% of that, it’s much more than that.
@Southerner
“Next up heavily subsidised bicycles for the 2%.”
They are already doing that here for the bikeists. The city is taking away driving lanes and parking to put in bike lanes. The occupancy is far less than 2%.
The only upside is that the homeless have more space to pitch their tents.
Our local long-distance (about 80 miles) bus route to the local Big City was thriving as it’s a lovely tourist draw as well as a much-needed long-distance route. Then the government capped fares at £2, and it started losing money hand over fist and needed subsidising. Now the council is cutting the subsidies.
I recently tried to apply for my old fart’s bus pass, but couldn’t do so on line. Why? Because my first name is less than 6 letters. Who on earth thought that was a good idea?
So phone them. At 10 minutes to knocking off time. And don’t be fobbed off with “No problem sir, we’ll call you back tomorrow.” Tell them you don’t mind holding on until it’s done.
Have you tried entering it as
N a u t i c a l N i c k ?