LCR Bus Franchising

[Barney]

RE: LCR Bus Franchising
I agree that the past two years have been atypical with respect to most things in life and certainly, the mixed messages being issued regarding the use of public transport have been very unhelpful. The 'school run' had been a growing problem for many years now and yes it is getting worse. Where I live, I see parents chauffeuring their darlings a few hundred yards to the school gates because they are concerned about the high levels of road traffic. Irony is clearly lost on them.

However, though the pandemic is not over, society needs to get back to some level of normality. Yes, road traffic is now back to the levels it was pre-pandemic but this is unsustainable in major conurbations such as Manchester and the LCR.

The price of fuel is a global issue and the current tragic situation in Ukraine is a warning to us all that cheap fuel is not a given. Already the price of a litre of unleaded is 50% more than it was 18 months ago and the media is now focusing on how the war is impacting on the "hard-pressed motorist". Like the Suez crisis, the consequences of Putin's aggression will have a lasting impact on gas and oil supplies for many years to come and it is possible that a similar situation to the one that occurred in 2000 during the tanker drivers' dispute will be repeated where many people will ditch the car and resort to public transport especially if there is a viable option.