I'd never even heard of this programme until tonight
hock:
Before I got my pass, I used to hate how the fares back home had gone up so sharply since the late 90s. I used to baulk at the idea of having to pay 30p - yes, 30p - to travel two stops! (This was under Child fare rules, but the cost was negated by the only intermediate stop being a fare stage which meant it was 30p and not 15p!).
Now, it is something like £1.00 for that samne journey, which is an enormous increase. Thus, on this evidence alone, I am in favour of the idea.
Then you get to just about every other argument in existence, including even journey time because that can be offset by convenience (especially where passes are involved), and as such I have to mimic most of you, and say no.
To give one quick idea, the 265 route from here to Trowbridge is very well loaded most of the time, but is a poor money maker because the majority of journeys are done with ENCTS passes (like mine obviously). By contrast, beyond Trowbridge, to Warminster, it requires a subsidy! What would happen on this route?