Black Flag is right about Speedwell, but how does passengers being left high and (not so) dry by privateers not "up to scratch" prove the case for the free market? De-regulation has failed the non motorist in GM everywhere except in the south of the city. Speedwell was a classic example. It started as Glossopdale Bus Company with a £5000 Princes Trust grant to run 5 minutes in front of GM Buses into Glossop in 1990 - thus leaving a 55 minute gap on the two routes it competed with. The claims about a "state of the art fleet" are a joke. Apart from one 4 year old bus, the entire fleet was between 7 and 22 years old.
Also, the suggestion that First and Stagecoach have a "monopoly" is utter nonsense. Every commercial bus company in Britain competes with the private car and cycles....and even pedestrians, and in Greater Manchester they also compete with rail (including Metrolink) services paid for largely by the tax-payer. Not only that, but whilst subsidised rail operators pay no fuel tax on their 25 year old diesels, commercial bus companies will be paying 80% extra fuel tax for every mile they run from April - including their increasing fleet of green "hybrid" buses - which also get charged the full £500 VED per bus, per year.
Also, the suggestion that First and Stagecoach have a "monopoly" is utter nonsense. Every commercial bus company in Britain competes with the private car and cycles....and even pedestrians, and in Greater Manchester they also compete with rail (including Metrolink) services paid for largely by the tax-payer. Not only that, but whilst subsidised rail operators pay no fuel tax on their 25 year old diesels, commercial bus companies will be paying 80% extra fuel tax for every mile they run from April - including their increasing fleet of green "hybrid" buses - which also get charged the full £500 VED per bus, per year.