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JNugent · January 7th 08, 01:02 AM posted to uk.transport.london

Colin Rosenstiel wrote:
In article ,
(Neil Williams) wrote:

On Fri, 4 Jan 2008 15:32:28 -0000, "Paul Scott"
wrote:

There's a real possibility that the free bus travel will wipe out
daytime train travel by the over 60s in some rural areas. I'm sure
one of the regional rail companies has already found this. South
Wales perhaps?

Worse than that, it results in an effectively *subsidised* bus service
competing with the already-subsidised rail service, thus increasing
the required subsidy for the trains and thus proving a waste of money
and a contradiction to the concept of an integrated network.

The example I can think of is the Conwy Valley, where there is now a
local agreement to accept the bus passes, and the "competing" and
predatory bus service seems to now be suffering from a bit of a lack
of passengers.

The Government has decided that the basis of payments to bus companies
for the free travel is the full fare foregone. In the past such schemes
worked on real marginal costs.

This is a very deliberate general subsidy to the bus industry, much of
which is going into the pockets of already fat cats.

Is the amount worked out on the basis of an estimate of how many times
a day/week/month a typical concessionary-pass-holder might use the bus?