Splitting up long services to avoid EU driving hours regulations

[TheGrandWazoo]

As I said, new buses would come with tachos pre-fitted. If the requirement applied retrospectively to buses already owned, big operators would get their depot workshops accredited as tachograph centres (like they're already accredited as MOT centres) and would do it in-house for nowhere near that much cost (roughly 20%, on the back of a fag packet). The 2 year inspection could be added to the existing rota inspections for basically free (6 yearly inspections aren't relevant for new/newly-fitted vehicles any more).

I'm sure they'd take it as seriously as they currently take MOT inspections

If you want to ignore the costs of fitting (as you believe that it's a sunk cost) and believe that they'll be fitted FOC in new fleet and not passed onto the operator, then you could make that argument.

Much as in the same way that it public transport cannot compete with the private car as, if you ignore the sunk costs of ownership, the marginal cost of fuel is relatively small.

 

[PermitToTravel]

You're looking in the wrong place anyway. The serious cost isn't in fitting tachographs, it's in changing industry practices enough to keep them happy - even if they're set to enforce the current GB rules.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

you mean in the way that many coaches on longer non stop journeys do ?

Yes, that's what I mean- using those "tactics" to avoid routes needing to be artificially "split": it would allow routes to be advertised in full without ambiguity. I wasn't asking whether it would be viable as it almost certainly wouldn't be.