TIME TO RE-REGULATE?

摘要

Some call it franchising. Others say it's really just tendering for contracts. But regardless of the semantics, politicians and bus industry professionals are becoming increasingly agitated about the future funding and organisation of bus services outside London. Do we carry on with deregulation or is competition ― where it exists ― taken off the streets and replaced by operators bidding for exclusive rights to run individual routes or groups of services? The biggest fans of franchising include the passenger transport executives and authorities in the English regional conurbations who contrast the stagnation, decline or at best marginal increases in bus use on their patches with fast-rising ridership in regulated London. They insist that they don't want to get back to operating their own buses, but they feel frustrated by their apparent inability to influence bus services in the way that they can specify train or tram services. They also believe that big operators are making excessive profits in their areas.