tbtc
Veteran Member
We're having another debate about de-regulation/ privatisation of buses in Great Britain on the Forum.
It's made me realise - I don't know how Northern Irish buses have fared over a similar period (to use as a benchmark)
I've been over a couple of times in the past and am aware of some of the high profile events (like the Metro) but never paid enough attention to know how things have ebbed and flowed - how have things like fleet sizes/ evening services/ rural routes changed over the past thirty five years, to compare to England/ Scotland/ Wales? Has Derry (population 85,000) seen its services grown/shrunk more than other places with a population of around 85,000? (e.g. full evening service on all routes or once-frequent routes now a shadow of their former selves)
I appreciate that some people will say that there are some differences (e.g. how much has demand been changed due to retail parks/ shopping "malls"... different amounts of public sector subsidy available to prop up quiet bus routes - there's also the issue that rail privatisation has meant commercially minded TOCs battling more and severely impacting upon some long established bus routes), but it seems a reasonable benchmark (whereas debates about non-privatised bus operators in Great Britain will see some people focussing on flops like Halton and others only looking at successes like Lothian)
It's made me realise - I don't know how Northern Irish buses have fared over a similar period (to use as a benchmark)
I've been over a couple of times in the past and am aware of some of the high profile events (like the Metro) but never paid enough attention to know how things have ebbed and flowed - how have things like fleet sizes/ evening services/ rural routes changed over the past thirty five years, to compare to England/ Scotland/ Wales? Has Derry (population 85,000) seen its services grown/shrunk more than other places with a population of around 85,000? (e.g. full evening service on all routes or once-frequent routes now a shadow of their former selves)
I appreciate that some people will say that there are some differences (e.g. how much has demand been changed due to retail parks/ shopping "malls"... different amounts of public sector subsidy available to prop up quiet bus routes - there's also the issue that rail privatisation has meant commercially minded TOCs battling more and severely impacting upon some long established bus routes), but it seems a reasonable benchmark (whereas debates about non-privatised bus operators in Great Britain will see some people focussing on flops like Halton and others only looking at successes like Lothian)