First Bus seem to be contracting at the moment My own view, based on a chat I had a while back with an insider, is that the decision to withdraw routes does not mean that they are unprofitable, it may only mean that are insufficiently profitable to maintain share prices.
First will seek to maintain and improve the share price. The price is dependent on financial results which are revelaed at various time sduring the year. Should profits be slightly lower then expected, then in order for investor confidence to remain high, the company needs to be seen to be taking action to address this.
One of the ways they can do this is to pull out from any routes that do not provide a certain percentage of return on capital. my contact declared this to be 8%, but did not know whether this was merely a local figure or one that applied nationally, However, I am convinced that the principle is correct whatebver the actual % amount might be.
Another bus operator, perhaps one that is not constarined by the same external pressures as a company on the stock market, may well be happy with a route that is profitable with a 3 or 4% return on investment. On the othe rhand, if the routes are not making any money it's difficult to see how any other company will step in on a commercial basis.
Isn't it great having transport that is subject to the whims of market forces!