tbtc
Veteran Member
The scrapping of the Oxford Bus Company X90 (Oxford - London) brings the end to one of the longest running bits of competition in the UK... but it's also one of the routes with pretty comprehensive competition (seven days a week, from five in the morning until after midnight).
Whilst defining "competition" can be arbitrary (are services that share just a couple of stops "competing" with each other, does it have to be following the exact route over at least a mile, where do you draw the line), how many routes/corridors are there where the two operators are properly competing and that competition is more than just 08:00-18:00 Monday to Saturday?
West Lothian is a relatively recent example, with Lothian County operating seven days a week, from early to late (with a Night Bus), but a lot of "competition" in other areas has become "partnership", e.g. Sheffield and Liverpool both have Stagecoach running co-ordinated services with the incumbent operator (First and Arriva, respectively), so not really competing any more.
Without getting into too much of an argument, how many "seven days a week, with some evening services" competition remains in the UK?
Whilst defining "competition" can be arbitrary (are services that share just a couple of stops "competing" with each other, does it have to be following the exact route over at least a mile, where do you draw the line), how many routes/corridors are there where the two operators are properly competing and that competition is more than just 08:00-18:00 Monday to Saturday?
West Lothian is a relatively recent example, with Lothian County operating seven days a week, from early to late (with a Night Bus), but a lot of "competition" in other areas has become "partnership", e.g. Sheffield and Liverpool both have Stagecoach running co-ordinated services with the incumbent operator (First and Arriva, respectively), so not really competing any more.
Without getting into too much of an argument, how many "seven days a week, with some evening services" competition remains in the UK?