First Manchester

[gilesbus1]

RE: First Manchester

(14/02/2019 03:00)Brickmill Wrote:  Potential growth market? Who in their right mind is going to spend a fortune on buying, taxing and insurance a car and then spend ING £4.80 bus fare instead of as little as 84p petrol and free parking (in most suburbs). Or if they are committing, taking twice the time or more to get to/from work?
And then you say an individual doesn't care about buses because he travels by car... Notwithstanding his recent piece in the MEN emphasising the importance of buses. Due to the sheer numbers of people depending on them, at worst Mr Burnham is nowhere near the users biggest political enemy. As for TFGM bus timetables, they run on a strictly impartial system to stop Operators giving the impression that they are the only Operator on a route. Their blandness is based on budget concerns and who knows if Operators didn't change nearly every service at least twice a year, because they are incapable of analysing a whole route at once, the extra staff time created combined with the positive effects of a stable network would create an opportunity to make.

Well if you don't want to promote a product then it deserves to fail, and it will fail, all I see is cuts continuing or buses being operated at a loss, if you believe the public system was better how come every year Greater Manchester Transport directly controlled buses it made a massive loss and passengers deserted it in there droves and switched to private cars? How come there were more strikes than i've had hot dinners at least one all out strike a year - did passengers not suffer then Phil???? the same passengers you claim to support, then yes there was no customer service drivers were rude and ignorant in many cases, swearing on vehicles was wide spread amongst staff - Do you really want to go back to that. Then there was wasting money by scrapping buses that had a 20 year life span after 12 years or in the case of the two Foden NC's after about 6 years rather than selling them on on the second hand market, the there was the bus garages they built in the 1970's/1980's all of which are now closed and mostly demolished because they were dumb enough not to realise flat roofs don't work, but no worry you were only wasting tax payers money not your own. Thats why it can't ever go back to that.

TfGM have always been bitter because they lost control, and at every step of the way they've done little to help the private bus market except to hinder operators investment plans with poor decision making that seems to take years to do, if TfGM are that sure they want this well why don't they do it tomorrow not after another consultation yet again while all the time bus passengers are suffering because operators are unable to make business plans and invest in fleets so much so at least two of them are in discussions to sell there Greater Manchester business's. Well there will be no happy ending as its band B houses that have to pay the extra tax some of the people you say you want to help with this, TfGM don't tell the full truth and spin the issue to get there own way and with the lack of marketing tools things won't change. Also opportunities are missed like the option to bid for Hydrogen Buses all things that could make a positive difference and get publicity are just missed and thrown away. Go back to the fleet colour of a 1960's living room if you want its not very appealing.