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GM FRANCHISING IS NOT CONVINCING
| 题名： | GM FRANCHISING IS NOT CONVINCING |
| 正文语种： | eng |
| 作者： | JAMES DAY |
| 摘要： | This year's Buses Festival on August 8 is fast approaching, so I'd like to start by saying how much I'm looking forward to taking part as Editor for the first time. Like many of you, I'm keen to get involved in industry events once again as normality returns, and I'm excited to meet readers in person for the first time. The progress of franchising in Manchester is something I continue to follow. While legal challenges continue, the move looks as likely as ever. One of my first tasks after joining Buses was to speak on BBC Radio Manchester about the Mayor's plan to bring buses back under public control. After speaking to me for a few minutes, the host said I'd "poured cold water" on the announcement; needless to say, I wasn't optimistic about the plans. This month David Jenkins has put together an excellent article examining the plans in detail, which you can find from page 32. The conclusions he has drawn do little to persuade me that my instincts were wrong. Franchising has its merits. It can be an excellent way to promote constructive competition in the bus industry, which results in a better service for passengers. Operators can bid on any route they wish, and compete to offer the most advanced, high-specification vehicles they can. They are incentivised to operate a good service not just for quality incentive cash, but to make their argument for retaining a route more compelling. In many ways, it opens new opportunities. Small operators aren't left with fringe services the big companies don't want to run and can contest the most lucrative contracts if they wish. So why the pessimism for Greater Manchester? Well, despite all the references to a London-style system, it's a very different city from London, there are stark differences to how franchising is being approached despite the inspiration from the English capital, and the funding provided will probably be dwarfed by Transport for London's budget. |
| 出版年： | 2021 |
| 期刊名称： | Buses |
| 卷： | 73 |
| 期： | 797 |
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