Yes but what Carl is saying is correct.
The exemplar that has been London is no longer the case. The reasons for that are directly applicable to Manchester and most other places.
- The growth in bus use was dependent on major subsidy increases to the bus network. It is a clear correlation
- The reduction in spend is again mirrored in patronage decline
- London is not immune from the other issues impacting bus operation across the UK - declining high street footfall and increasing traffic congestion
- One reason why cycling has grown in popularity (which is a good thing in my eyes) is because of the pitiful road speeds that buses now have to work to
As Carl has said, and it echoes what I've said before, the local authorities could face into many of these problems without recourse to franchising. Reducing on street parking is dependent on that. Better bus priority isn't. Workplace parking levies aren't and yet some on this board suggest that nothing can be done because of the bus barons and the pernicious commercial world.
Carl didn't mention car modal share but what he did say was that it is congestion that is killing buses.
The idea that Manchester will somehow achieve London style patronage on the back of a bit of margin erosion and saving a few buses where competition and perceived overbussing exists is ridiculous, especially when the initial funding runs out. It needs some hard decisions to be taken in terms of limiting car use and freeing up buses from the quagmire rather than some populist "stick it to the man" and a promise to return orange buses to Hulme.
Had enough of public engagement based on populist catchphrases, spurious financial claims and a headlong rush to return to a nirvana that never actually existed.