Greater Manchester Franchising

[motormayhem1]

RE: Greater Manchester Franchising

(26/03/2021 06:37)M60lad Wrote:  From what I've heard and read isn't it going to be a London style franchising system we're going to have? If so surely that's got to be a good thing as it will mean cheaper fares for passengers and a capped limit on what fares can be charged, I've got an Oyster Card for when I visit London and its surprising how far you can get in a day down there.

As for Cross-Boundary travel there's plenty of London Transport services that do it and passengers just tap in and tap out as usual, last time I had a weekend away in London I managed to get from Slough back into London area using an Oyster Card so why can't that be the case up here?

Another interesting thing is that despite Stagecoach and Diamond saying their not interested in Franchising and want a judicial review into the way things have been handled First who exited London because of Franchising haven't said a thing to my knowledge so looks like they might be staying in Manchester and seeing what happens.

While it will mean similar liveried buses operating in Manchester if it means cheaper fares for passengers despite being a holder of an ENCTS card I'm looking forward to franchising happening and will hold any judgement until it actually happens as you never know it might be a good thing in the end.

Its not going to happen overnight and apparently Bolton and Wigan are going to be rolled out first before its rolled out to the rest of Greater Manchester afterwards.

One final question I wonder who's going to build these new buses as if has been said the first phase will be introduced between 2023-2025 then surely orders will have to be put into whoever as soon as possible?

First have stated they oppose the franchising along with the others and the only ones who support it seem to be ones who dont run buses in manchester , them being abeilio , RATP etc.
It's all good and well saying cheaper fares but in the long run what happens if that's not enough to keep the services propped up , it will mean either price hiking or pay more tax to support it as once its come in theres no going back I think.
Bus partnership would be the better option for long term which would give TFGM a bit more of a say.