Oliver Coppard Lays Out Case For Bus Franchising In South Yorkshire

[YorkieontheTyne]

9 minutes ago, Padders said:

Another one Yorkie,

Free toilet rolls from the lasses at Dixon Paper Mills Oughtibridge. (Now long gone)

And,

The last bus to Stannington, run back light to garage.

Used to be a lad snogging his girl at the terminus, "Drop us off at Hillsboro mate"

Another couple of quid in the hod....

Mind you, at Firvale there used to be a chap gave you a handful of sweets, but the rumour was that he cleared out the lockers of the deceased in the Northern General.

And there was always a newspaper handed over on the early morning services out of the city centre.

[RollingJ]

3 minutes ago, Resident said:

FSY has 496 operational vehicles (according to Google). To replace them all with the Volvo EVs it would need an investment of just short of a quarter of a BILLION and that's before you consider the new charging infrastructure you'd need to install at each depot. 

Even BIGGER ouch!

[Guest busdriver1]

2 hours ago, RollingJ said:

I know - but I like wasting my time - not.

You might, I do not and am tired of the constant rose tinted glasses view, bye from Me

[SheffieldForum]

30 minutes ago, busdriver1 said:

You might, I do not and am tired of the constant rose tinted glasses view, bye from Me

It could be argued the other way though and the counter point is that people could be tired of the pessimism towards change.

 

Either way, the discussion is good! It’s always valuable to hear opposing views and your opinion is as valid as anyone’s.

[RollingJ]

Just now, SheffieldForum said:

It could be argued the other way though and the counter point is that people could be tired of the pessimism towards change.

 

Either way, the discussion is good! It’s always valuable to hear opposing views and your opinion is as valid as anyone’s.

I have no 'pessimism towards change' - I, (and others with the relevant knowledge/experience) can see quite clearly what is trying to be achieved, even in the face of glaring evidence that it just doesn't work.

[SheffieldForum]

So, for the opposing view to public ownership, are there any arguments to all these seemingly well sourced and cited specific points (and ‘but, but, but TFL’ doesn’t count in and of itself).

20 hours ago, SheffieldForum said:

Some interesting info from We Own It:

 

• We lost £1.49 billion to shareholders in the ten years to 2019 due to privatisation.
• Public money accounts for over 40% of bus operator revenue because “the public has effectively become an insurer of operator profits, propping up private services.”
• Public ownership would save us £506 million a year that could be invested in developing better bus networks and lower fares for you. Those savings could even pay for 1,356 new electric buses.
• Fares in England have gone up 71% since 2005.
• Fares have nearly doubled in real-terms under deregulation and privatisation.
• In 2019, The Guardian found that single fares outside of London can run up to a staggering £6 for a Stagecoach ticket.
• Only 1% of bus services face head-to-head competition, which a 2011 Competition Commission report has shown has led to lower quality services and higher fares. This report also notes how customers are get on the first bus that comes along - of course they do! Bus services are natural monopolies that should be run as an integrated network, not a competitive market.
• Bus trips outside of London have halved since the privatisation of our buses.
• In the decade to 2019, well over 3,000 bus routes were cut.
• 57% of motorists would use their car less if bus fares were lower, and services more reliable.
• 19% of workers have had to turn down a job due to poor quality bus services.
• 56% of small rural towns in North East and South West of England have become transport deserts or are at risk of becoming one.
• Countries such as Germany and Switzerland have invested in their public transport network with impressive results: integrated systems in public control means bus services can be available for every village, every hour. 
• As a municipally owned bus service, Reading Buses can invest an additional £3 million a year in the bus network (around 12-15% of its annual turnover) because it doesn't pay out dividends to private shareholders. The extra money means better quality buses, one of the greenest fleets in the UK, and contributes to more people taking the bus in Reading.
• Publicly owned bus companies have won the annual UK Bus Operator of the Year Award for 5 of the last 7 years, including the last two awards going to Nottingham in 2019 and Blackpool in 2022.
• The UK’s largest public bus company, Lothian Buses, operates 70 routes in Edinburgh and the surrounding area. Levels of customer satisfaction for Lothian Buses are the highest in the industry and it returned £5.5 million to the public purse.
• In Germany where publicly owned operators provide 88% of all local public transport journeys.
   

 

 

[Guest busdriver1]

Please delete my account I am done here

[Padders]

1 minute ago, busdriver1 said:

Please delete my account I am done here

"SORRY NOT IN SERVICE"

[RollingJ]

6 minutes ago, busdriver1 said:

Please delete my account I am done here

We have now lost another well-informed member.  Not exactly the way to keep a balanced forum, if all the responses we get are 'everything must be in 'public' ownership', because politicians, especially local ones, are so good at their job.

[SheffieldForum]

2 minutes ago, RollingJ said:

We have now lost another well-informed member.  Not exactly the way to keep a balanced forum, if all the responses we get are 'everything must be in 'public' ownership', because politicians, especially local ones, are so good at their job.

It’s a discussion forum — to discuss things. Alternative views will be given and not everyone will immediately follow a specific viewpoint.
 

I really like @busdriver1 (and other contributors) and think their contributions have been great! I don’t want to see them go, I feel like this is a good thread and good opportunity for people stumbling on it to get more informed and form a more solid opinion on a topic which, outside of this forum, I feel is largely stacked towards public ownership. I’ve certainly heard some good stuff which has made me think about it more.