Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising

[CUL 73V]

RE: Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising

(28/06/2023 18:58)1466 Wrote:  I'm afraid it is, firstly, the smart ticketing projects would have been funded by grant funding, Walrus wasn't replaced but evolved into the Metro Card, which I'm sure can all agree is a good thing.

I could wax lyrical about the impact of austerity brought about in part by the fib dems, needless to say, local government funding and Merseytravel has been decimated.

The fact of the matter is that our bus network has been decimated by the private operators, just look at East Cheshire which has been abandoned by Arriva and the fact of the matter is Merseytravel doesn't have the funding to fill the gaps

I'm afraid it isn't "tosh", because Merseytravel and your local politicians obviously haven't done anything to prevent your area losing its bus service. It appears I was mistaken with Walrus, what the £6.5 million of taxpayer money was actually spent on was investing in a smart card company which never made any money.

Arriva won't provide a service if it doesn't cover its costs. If enough people use their bus service, then it'll make enough money to cover its costs and it won't give the operator a reason to withdraw it. As for Merseytravel not having enough funding for vital services, they would if they didn't waste it. They paid John West Foods £425k of taxpayer money to rent a floor in their new headquarters, which Merseytravel move into from rent free premises. Then there's the £70 million wasted on the Merseytram project. How many vital bus services could that combined £77 million have subsidised?

And by the way, having a dig at my political views just shows how mature you are.