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Boxing Day and the lack of Public Transport


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Does anyone else think that it's ludicrous that bus companies don't run services on Boxing day?

 

It's one of the busiest sales days of the year so you've got staff needing to get to work & you have people wanting to shop for post christmas bargains.

 

It just seems to me that the companies don't want to make any money!

 

 

 

Why should bus companies run for your convenience.

 

Sorry to say, but as bus companies are funded via taxes, I guess they can do as they please.

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Why should bus companies run for your convenience.

 

Sorry to say, but as bus companies are funded via taxes, I guess they can do as they please.

 

Therein lies the problem, the bus operators are private companies funded by taxes who don't give a damn about your convenience and do as they please.

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Which is useless if you don't live in those areas.

 

 

 

Do what I do every day? You mean go out to work? So I shouldn't expect a publically funded (ie out of my taxes, paid from what I earn) service to operate when it's needed, not just for me but for the workforce of the county?

 

How do you get to work? Do you drive? If the answer is yes, why not just drive into town? And FYI, myself and everyone else also pay the same taxes.

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Therein lies the problem, the bus operators are private companies funded by taxes who don't give a damn about your convenience and do as they please.

 

Funded by taxes? Not exactly.

 

Bus operators are private companies running a commercial business.

 

The majority of bus services are run as commerical business ventures at their own financial risk.

 

Some extra bus services are run with public funding. These are ones that would not otherwise run as they aren't commercially viable but the local authority (in our case SYPTE) take a view that they are socially neccessary and put them out to tender to operate with subsidy.

 

The only other public money that goes to bus operators are to compensate operators for accepting concessionary travel passes (for example senior citizens, disabled and children).

 

In the case of Boxing Day and New Years Day, there is not enough demand for travel for services to be comercially viable. Trams run on a commercial basis both days and trains run commercially on New Years Day but only because its in the terms of their concession/franchise and I suspect they lose money. Buses in Sheffield run both days because Sheffield City Council choose to pay for them to operate. The council also puts in some additional subsidy to fund the £1 flat fare offer on the buses.

 

Any services beyond what currently runs over Christmas would require extra funding from the taxpayer to be found. Thats difficult given all the austerity cuts from the government - if the council was to fund more buses then other council services would face further cuts.

 

There are enough buses and trams to get people to the sales at Meadowhall and sporting fixtures. For anything else there are taxis.

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There are enough buses and trams to get people to the sales at Meadowhall and sporting fixtures. For anything else there are taxis.

 

What part of Boxing day being one of the biggest sales days in the year? Clearly there's a demand for services to be run because taxi companies get over-run with bookings. Bus company (mis)management are willfully ignorant to this.

 

Why should other retailers who don't reside within Meadowhall suffer the loss potential sales because of another company's decision? The whole country is in the toilet financially and anything to promote spending should be done and that includes an adequate transport system.

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Therein lies the problem, the bus operators are private companies funded by taxes who don't give a damn about your convenience and do as they please.

 

I thought they were funded by revenue from fares with some subsidies for social routes/services-no wonder so many people are anti bus!

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Why should myself or my employer brunt an extra financial cost when we pay a company to run services.

 

There's money to be made by running buses on a proper (not limited) service yet there is none. It's a foolish business decision.

 

My dad used to be a bus driver, and used to do the Xmas shifts. He'd always come home saying they were dead.

 

Its not the bus companies job to ensure that there are services just to suit your business, which may or may not be open Boxing Day.

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Does anyone else think that it's ludicrous that bus companies don't run services on Boxing day?

 

It's one of the busiest sales days of the year so you've got staff needing to get to work & you have people wanting to shop for post christmas bargains.

 

It just seems to me that the companies don't want to make any money!

 

Nobody moans about buses more than me, but even they deserve time off with their families at Christmas and they are running some services. OMG its a sale day how SAD it's not compulsory to go shopping, chill its Christmas.

 

---------- Post added 21-12-2012 at 09:16 ----------

 

It was actually 49,309 - a Third division record, seems like yesterday!

 

Yep not a bus in sight, and as you say we all got there, okay some of wish we'd never bloody bothered but I'm over it now I promise :hihi::hihi:

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