On Fri, 4 Sep 2020 08:24:11 +0000 (UTC), Lew 1
wrote:



Thanks, yes, I'd not thought of the further problem of the drivers
failing to display the correct card. He also answers the question of
where (some of?) the extra buses have come from.


Although haw can extra buses be shipped in when the same situation must
pertain everywhere else, except perhaps New Zealand?

Quite easy when everywhere except London, COVID has provided a neat excuse
for many bus operators to provide the bare minimum and pull services they
had long found bothersome to run anyway.

London is very much atypical when it comes to bus transport in the UK in
that it’s seen as a useful public service that benefits the city rather
than a poorly-subsidised after-thought.

Lew

I don't understand this. Commercial bus routes are just that,
commercial. If a service is bothersome you can simply stop running it,
having given the required notice, you don't need a pandemic as an
excuse. Many urban routes fit into this category.

Local authority supported services are different. The operator
provides what they're contracted to provide, which is why two buses an
hour passed my house throughout the lockdown with an average of less
than one passenger per journey. I can imagine that some LAs have
reduced services (if they have the power?) but the operators can't
just stop running 'inconvenient' journeys.

The few commercial services near me are back to full timetable, so
where were these bothersome trips that have been pulled?