Since the announcement it has seemed that GCB will have the passengers and the buses but not the drivers, but with the news that over 70's will have to self isolate for 4 months soon, who are bound to be one TfCs largest customer areas, being the tender services, passenger numbers for GCB, Kernow and the subs are bound to fall until things blow over
Train companies are already starting to feel the financial impact of Coronavirus, wonder how long bus companies like Kernow and GCB start to feel it too?
Maybe it won't just be a shortage of drivers for GCB but passengers too
If Cornwall Council were to announce within the next couple of days that 'due to circumstances beyond our control, our new contract with Go-Cornwall Bus has been postponed until late May' many would understand, and feel this was the right decision, even some with knowledge of what's been going on/not going on. Of course, this would require the co-operation of First Kernow and smaller operators in extending the existing contract, and for FK/TC to agree continuation of current 'commercial' timetables, perhaps with the addition of some seasonal services.
The reasons I think this would be an extremely good idea are:
1) To give Go-Ahead the opportunity to recruit sufficient drivers from other parts of the country, or agency drivers, ready for commencement of service,
2) To give Cornwall Council the opportunity to re-evaluate some of the proposed routes/journeys in view of both FK's stated intentions and other factors that the council could not be aware of when planning the network e.g. the Newquay Airport situation,
3) Speaking of factors beyond the council's control, the Coronavirus situation cannot be ignored. For instance, Truro/Penwith College has already announced the bringing forward of the Easter break to the coming Wednesday(?) and who knows when the students will return? Scotland's Chief Medical Officer spoke this morning of schools there remaining closed for 'thirteen to sixteen weeks' if the necessity to close them was decided upon: she also made it clear that the four U.K. Chief Medical Officers were all agreed on the same measures, though it was up to politicians in the different countries as to if or when they were implemented.
4) It gives Cornwall Council the opportunity to introduce the much-vaunted radical new fares package in tandem, thus turning a possible P.R. disaster into, well, let's be generous and call it a triumph!
Cornwall Council has also recently received adverse reaction to the following:
Its ownership of Newquay Airport, now renamed Cornwall Airport (Newquay) ;
The disclosure that the Oracle Cloud IT project of the council, set to go 'live' on 1st April(!) is not only £3.2m over budget but CC's wholly owned subsidiary Corserv won't be using it because of its perceived deficiencies, and have instead developed their own version of Oracle which is incompatible with the council's!!
The continuing obfuscation over the Stadium for Cornwall which is no nearer to having work started on it than in years past, despite the sums of public money spent on it.
Does any of the above matter? It does to a lot of concerned locals, and the aforementioned Corserv both operates the airport and is the partner of GCB in the new bus services, providing depot space and other services. All rather rum!