Impera Bus & Coach

[First Class]

RE: Impera Bus & Coach
Regarding the 130/210/241/250 contracts, they are lucrative in terms that the subsidy received is fairly hefty, presumably because of the amount of resources that should be allocated to the routes, (and mileage/locations covered as a result).

I find these routes quite bizarre though:

Monday-Friday evenings = Steady, perhaps not profitable for a main operator, but a small independent could probably turn a profit
Saturdays = Profitable towards Liverpool, bit quieter in other directions
Match Days = VERY, profitable!
Sundays/Bank Holidays = Very, very profitable from first bus to around 18:00

I think if the Merseytravel subsidy wasn't as good, these routes would be private. As it is, an operator can probably get the same in secure subsidy, as it would make if they operated privately. Although finance is the same, the risk to the operator is far less if they opt for the subsidised routes.