You have continually stated that there were outright lies and fabrication. Corruption is the practice of dishonesty, especially by persons in positions of authority so you are alleging corruption.
So yes I have said that ""the 45% increase in passenger numbers due largely to Free Weekend Travel"" was a lie and the data had been fabricated. You have defined this as corruption.
I'd expect something more sophisticated than.
T2 2017/8 345k to 2018/9 691k representing an increase of 20%
T3 2018/9 238k to 2019/20 223k representing an increase of 6%
you don't cleverly invent the wrong figures.
I must admit I missed the latter which should read decrease of 6% instead of increase . This could be a slip of the tongue and as you say this is incompetence.
But how can you say the former is incompetence when the figure of a 20% increase has been chosen. This is clearly fabrication of the data by choosing the percentage increase as 20%. You could say it is incompetence to do the 20% increase calculation incorrectly and then putting the incorrect calculated increase as the 2018-2019 figure. Can we agree on a mixture of fabrication of the 20% increase combined with incompetence in doing the increase calculation and incompetence in applying the calculated passenger increase to provide the desired passenger figure for 2018-2019 ?
Just because the fabrication has been carried out incompetently does not change the fact that it is fabrication. They did actually ""not very cleverly invent the wrong figure"".
You would think that since the Welsh Government (WG) were using the 2018-2019 report to claim such a large 45% increase in passenger numbers due largely to Free Weekend Travel that they would have checked this report with a fine toothcomb and the 20% increase together with the figures showing a doubling of passenger numbers stands out to even a casual reader as totally incorrect.
The 2018-2019 report was only published by the WG at the beginning of March 2020, (8 months after the press release on 4 July 2019), when the Covid Pandemic started. That was not incompetence and was an attempt to cover up the fabrication.
Then we come to the 2019-2020 report, which contains the figures for 2018-2019 . The T2 figure for 2018-2019 was changed to the figure for 2017-2018. The writer knows the 691k has been incompetently fabricated and knows it will be detected in the 2019-2020 report unless the figure is changed. There is no explanation in the 2019-2020 report that the T2 figure for 2018-2019 was grossly incorrect, and that the 45% increase in passenger numbers quoted in 2018-2019 is also grossly incorrect . So again this is falsification of the data in the 2019-2020 report to cover up the previous falsification of the data in the 2018-2019 report and not incompetence. The 45% increase in passenger numbers is now in the public domain, is quoted in the 2018-2019 report, in Press releases, in answers to written questions in the Welsh Senedd , in the "Catch a Bus Week" documentation, in Transport Press Articles and even in the Welsh Transport Strategy to justify retention of the Free Weekend Travel scheme. The success of the Free Weekend Travel scheme is now enshrined in Welsh folklore and no attempt has been made to correct the record even though the First Minister has been informed along with the Leader of the Labour Party.
You do not mention the 83% increase for the T3 in the 2018-2019 report. This has been quoted in the media as a mistake based on comments from an "industry source". It would be interesting to know the "industry source".
https://www.keybuses.com/article/trawscymru-records-16-growth
quote ""The report offers no explanation for the stated 82% increase in passengers on the T3 (Wrexham- Barmouth). An industry source suggests this is an error""
Funnily enough the portrait of success with the very high figures for the T2/T3 in 2018-2019 (ie exactly 20% for the T2 and 83% for the T3) mirrors the T2/T3 success story the year before in 2017-2018 where weekend travel increased by 108% on the T3 and 89% on the T2. These T2/T3 figures, (way above all the other Trawscymru services), are astounding for 2 years running and show how successful Free Weekend Travel has been on these 2 routes compared to the rest of the network !!. However there is plenty of smoke and plenty of mirrors and more of that later.
A view that culminated in the Information Commissioner finding on behalf of the WG that you had pursued a personal agenda and that had led to vexatious pattern of FOI requests (22 in 3 years), "
Yes indeed . You know this already because I told you on this forum nearly 3 years ago on 15 July 2018 and I am still "vexatious" even now .
That does not alter the fact that the WG have fabricated data in the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 reports.
I was declared "vexatious" in February 2018 when I asked questions regarding the T10 Bangor to Oswestry route.
The techniques the WG used to generate 22 requests, (most of which were "vexatious"), were quite incredible . To start with the WG diverted questions to Local Authorities who quite rightly referred me back to the WG and separate requests. The WG even intercepted a letter to my Assembly member asking her to intervene with the Transport Minister and treated it as an FOIA request to add to this "vexatious" list. The Director of Transport was in charge of "vexatiousness" and initiated an Itable recording interactions the WG had to deal with due to the FOIA requests. This table included my letters to newspapers, and even entries on this forum. The table included letters from another member of the public to newspapers who disagreed with me. The table included letters from Assembly members requesting WG action on matters that they believed should be addressed. Throughout this period the WG were involved in no work other than the Director of Transport rejecting FOIA requests as "vexatious" and adding entries to the Itable. During this period of "vexatiousness" the WG told Ceredigion Council that they should not answer FOI requests relating to Trawscymru as the WG were dealing with all my questions even though every question was being rejected by the WG. Ceredigion Council had been particularly difficult throughout by splitting FOIA requests into an FOIA request and a Customer complaint dealt with by different personnel on different timescales and different appeals process. Conwy Council and Flintshire Council refused to even acknowledge the same repeated FOIA request on the T10 Bangor to Oswestry route and had to be threatened with High Court action by the Information Commissioner before they replied after 6 months. Wrexham Council ignored a request and eventually took the same line as Ceredigion. The only Council to resist the WG attempts to silence me were Carmarthenshire Council who throughout answered my questions in an open and honest way. The line the WG took with the High Court was that all my requests were related to T2/T1 connections in Aberystwyth when in reality they were in relation to new routes, the "High-Level" review that never took place and Free Weekend Travel. What "casemine" does not tell you is that the First High Court case found against the Welsh Government who had repeatedly told the Information Commissioner and the High Court that they deleted Trawscymru punctuality figures, when they held punctuality figuress in the Trawscymru Service delivery meeting minutes. In other words they lied. This was only revealed by Carmarthenshire Council informing me of the dates of Trawscymru Service delivery meetings that the WG had denied took place. The WG official who denied meetings had taken place was the the chairman of the meeting. After 2 years the High Court requested that the WG publicise the punctuality figures as part of their Publications scheme but the WG have declined to do so.
The WG with the help of an army of lawyers and the Permanent Secretary for the Welsh Government made a case to the High Court that they had done all they could to answer FOIA requests and were not just avoiding answering awkward questions. I am sure you are not naive enough to think that those questions were all "vexatious" and that the WG are incapable of lying. A member of the public on his own lined up against the Government Establishment is never going to win. If you look in the Welsh Assembly Transcripts you will find that the same WG Officials were accused by an Investigative Committee of Welsh Assembly members of failing to answer repeated requests from the Committee in relation to their actions in the "Circuit of Wales" project and the Committee had been repeatedly "misled". The Committee did not win either and did not get answers to their questions as the WG Officials had not "recorded" the requested information . The Minister informed the Welsh Assembly that "Lessons had been learned", but the WG Officials appear to have not listened to the teacher.
as skilled as Dr Winckler is, she has no background in bus operation and that was apparent in her report.
Correct she has no background in bus operation but she collaborated with a large range of stakeholders including bus operators, produced a 36 page report and recommended that the WG carry out a review of Trawscymru route between Wrexham and Aberystwyth. Contrast this with the T15 report which consulted 1 preferred bus operator, Arriva Buses Wales.
I'm happy to discuss issues with people on buses, discussing things robustly but with a level of respect and the ability to have open and honest debate. However, there is no prospect of having any form of rational discussion.
I thought that was what we were doing. Our debate is robust, respectful, open and honest.
You do not believe the WG have fabricated data in order to claim success of the Free Weekend Travel scheme . I believe the WG have fabricated data and I have tried to explain how it was fabricated. We differ in that respect but agree that certain new routes have not been properly evaluated by the WG and the Free Weekend Travel scheme has not been successful.
I will update the forum on the latest findings on the 2016-2017 Trawscymru Annual report, (Free Weekend Travel Brochure), and leave it up to you whether you wish to contribute .