How bus use has changed in London & in big cities outside of London since deregulation. (from which London was exempt).
From @thomasforth (posted at the other place)
Its quite an extraordinary 'natural experiment' - from which we can draw the conclusion (without too much difficulty) that #privatisation is not the way forward if #busses are to be part of the #greentransition
(and don't get me started on #London exceptionalism....)
Worth clarifying there are still private companies operating in London. The difference is between unregulated and regulated markets.
In london TFL franchises the routes, companies compete on cost and performance. Bringing down cost and improving performance. Profit margins are low and comparble across operators. A service every 15 mins or less is run to make the network attractive to commuters.
Outside of in the unregulated private market, private companies form monopolies, drive up prices and only run the most profitable routes and schedules while demanding huge subsidies for anything else. Profit margins are typically much higher but there is no alternative as they own all the depots and literally drive other operators out by blocking routes!
Excitied to see a regulated market approach coming to #manchester also what the ROI on for proper investment in bus (in regulated markets) could be for working families and the environment.
@JackRS1 @ChrisMayLA6 @thomasforth Let's be clear that there is not really a difference between what TFL are doing and government control. The bus companies do what TFL tells them to do and TFL is big and mean enough not to be abused. Smaller Local Authorities would be subject to manipulation by the large private providers so I doubt the London model would work elsewhere.
State provision directly with democratic control is the solution.
Emeritus Prof Christopher May
JackRS1
William Bell
Mark Burton