On that basis maybe people in Somerset should just sit back and wait for the cuts that First have proposed to be implemented and then complain when it's too late rather than lobby the council and the operator as they're doing now.
I think the difference that
@Andyh82 is pointing out is that the 54/58 proposals are out there in the public domain. Remember that First had already said that the services were untenable six months ago. In respect of Cornwall, there's speculation on these boards but not much firm information.
On another point, remote management is never a good thing and neither is the total lack of industry experience among primary decision makers. It was the complete opposite approach that stabilised and turned around FSW almost a decade ago. It's a shame it all went a bit OTT in the end with unrealistic expectations.
In respect of the initiatives you mention, the "guaranteed connections" on the Lizard were anything but, the Dartmouth Explorer was poorly operated and the least said about Discover Exeter the better.
Bit harsh on Simon Goff - he's been with First for at least 10 years. However, the First restructuring has seen that remote management return and that's not a good thing.
I think the Carter/Huws era can be characterised in two main chunks with Covid, not surprisingly, being a defining moment. Before then, new vehicle investment and route development/marketing had reached a high point, or at least in Cornwall it had. The management team cut off the dead weight of Plymouth, and then managed to finally get rid of Webberbus in Somerset though the operations there never felt like there was a victory dividend. Still, up until 2020, there was optimism and consistent improvement in the operations.
Covid not only changed the industry overnight with fewer passengers and rising costs. However, at that self same moment came the commencement of Go Ahead's TfC operations and this is something that I cautioned about at the time. It was spun that these were low margin operations and no great loss, with the ability to instead secure higher margins on commercial initiatives and contracted work elsewhere. However, those operations that were lost were important in providing a stable, consistent contribution to fixed overheads - something even more important in the post Covid world.
The commercial initiatives that followed in 2021 were brave, and some succeeded and some didn't. Again, as I said at the time, you have to kiss a lot of frogs and not all will turn into princes, so clearly some would work and some wouldn't. Lizard was always one I was doubtful about - it's just not THAT touristy in comparison to other hotspots. However, it was "operationally ambitious" and the same epithet can be applied to DayTripper. The original Sunseekers around Newquay had potential but crippling staff shortages meant it felt that they only operated sporadically. They did get it right handsomely with Exmoor and Atlantic Coasters but perhaps they were too ambitious?
It does feel like the edge of a precipice, for Buses of Somerset in particular, but Kernow to an extent.
