A Blueprint for Commercial Progress

Several pressure groups are using the current situation and funding to call for greater long term regulation to be brought in to the bus industry. Knee-jerk reactions to such an opportunity to make sweeping changes would almost certainly deliver disasterous results as such things need careful consideration to ensure they are fit for purpose. In…

Competence

Competence is a big word in transport these days. Passenger and Freight service operators have to prove they are competent in order to gain an operators' licence. Drivers must carry a card of their professional competence to prove they are capable of delivering the service they are employed to do. Yet Bristol City Council apparently…

The Barbie Dalek

Much of this post is based upon a press release issued to the local media on 4th December, which resulted in this article in the Weston Mercury. Text which is copied verbatim from the release will be coloured maroon and references (found at the bottom) in blue. Despite the date of publication, it was written…

Dial-a-Loss

Over the past decade, Dial-a-Ride schemes across Bath and North East Somerset have done extraordinary damage to the bus network. These parasitic "charities" are stealing revenue from tax paying, licenced businesses and we're supposed to think this is a good thing. Take a look at the supported bus network in B&NES. Passenger numbers on less…

On Infrastructure

A lot is made of the contributions of local government towards the infrastructure of bus services - the bus stops, shelters and raised kerbs are the mainstay of this, but larger schemes such as bus lanes and bus priority fall in to this category too. Over recent years schemes such as Better Bus Areas have…