Greater Manchester Franchising

[knutstransport]

RE: Greater Manchester Franchising

(15/05/2021 02:43)wirralbus Wrote:  Making the fare a flat rate say £1.50 to £2 will work

Flat fare singles didn't go down that well when Arriva Merseyside first introduced them but I think they were £2.20 and that was a few years back.

[knutstransport]

RE: Greater Manchester Franchising

(15/05/2021 08:16)Mrboo Wrote:  we have to pay a tax for Carrer bags that could of been seen as political dynamite.

Actually the tax is for 'single use' plastic bags, which many supermarkets have abolished in favour of stronger 'reusable' bags or bags for life. There's nothing to stop supermarkets giving away free bags for life and then offering lifetime replacement for worn out ones. Some shops have also swapped plastic for paper, which gets around the tax.

[knutstransport]

RE: Greater Manchester Franchising

(14/05/2021 19:30)Mayneway Wrote:  When I work on certain routes that have ‘short’ workings as well as full workings I find most people don’t even look at the destination, then complain when they are being kicked off mid route.
People are so wrapped up in their phones and music they don’t notice the colour of buses or the age and spec.

Sounds like where you are the passengers are the complete opposite of bus passengers in Northwich who can tell the difference between a bus in Network Warrington red and a bus in D&G red when seeing buses approaching.

Not all bus passengers even have mobiles, especially in the case of the 'bus pass' generation and even when they do have phones they may not have a phone capable of browsing the web.

[EDB325]

RE: Greater Manchester Franchising

(15/05/2021 08:53)knutstransport Wrote:  Actually the tax is for 'single use' plastic bags, which many supermarkets have abolished in favour of stronger 'reusable' bags or bags for life. There's nothing to stop supermarkets giving away free bags for life and then offering lifetime replacement for worn out ones. Some shops have also swapped plastic for paper, which gets around the tax.

10p for a plastic bag is negligible. The cost per household of providing free public transport would be considerably higher, so it's not a comparable argument.

If you're going to start penalising motorists even further than is already the case, you're looking at massive civil unrest. Free public transport only works when there is a tight-knit operating area with blanket coverage.

[Barney]

RE: Greater Manchester Franchising

(15/05/2021 10:27)EDB325 Wrote:  If you're going to start penalising motorists even further than is already the case, you're looking at massive civil unrest. Free public transport only works when there is a tight-knit operating area with blanket coverage.

I agree. In the early 1980s, a young Ken Livingstone introduced a radical policy in London called Fares Fair. The aim was to provide heavily subsidised public transport within the capital. This policy was successfully challenged in the courts by a Bromley councillor who argued that as that borough did not have a Tube station within it, it was unreasonable that local ratepayers should have to pay for a service that they did not receive.

As we all know, there are certain areas of Greater Manchester that are well served by buses and trams and others - mainly the leafy suburbs - that are not.