Soapbox Sunday - The Stagecoach approaches?

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

This year has seen an increase in bus companies changing hands with Stagecoach in particular being involved in a few deals to buy out a few smaller companies and two major companies. Go Ahead and Arriva have also made a few purchases over the past year, Arriva mostly buying in Europe. First have been a bit quiet on the bus front but have taken on a lot more rail work One or two overseas groups are also taking more of an interest in bus operation in this country at the moment with Transdev taking Bournemouth being the most interesting.

In most of these cases the takeovers were either open secrets - or at least strong rumours well before the events. With the growth of the email groups news gets out almost instantly these days and it can be quite hard for companies to keep things quiet as just one careless manager or staff member letting something out in a conversation can be all over the internet within a few hours!

This last week has seen a major announcement though that seems to have caught everyone by surprise. Stagecoach has just sold its London buses operations to an Australian Bank:

Stagecoach yesterday sold its London bus operations for £263.6m to Australian bank Macquarie, telling shareholders it could generate higher revenues away from the capital's tightly regulated
franchises. The bus, coach and rail group said funds from the deal could be better used developing services in deregulated markets in the north of the England.

Stagecoach will look for further organic growth and bolt-on acquisitions for its remaining British bus business, where it has expanded in Merseyside, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Tayside over the past year, chief executive Brian Souter said.

and of Macquarie...

Like the Australian football team, Macquarie is nothing if not tenacious. It looks possible it will lose out on its bid for AB Ports much as it lost out last year on a bid for the London Stock Exchange, but it has jumped up the international league with recent deals. Macquarie is one of the banks involved in Eurotunnel and own Bristol and Birmingham airports. The bank has 8,000 staff in 24 countries and runs the gas pipelines in Wales and the west of England. Macquarie can trace its roots to the defunct Hill Samuel City investment bank. It became Macquarie in 1985.

Above copyright www.Guardian.co.uk

So far so good, but what does this have to do with Plymouth? Well, in the short term maybe not a lot, but Stagecoach is knocking on the door of Plymouth. It has a very sucessful operation based in Exeter and Torquay where it has really turned the business around over the past few years and is now the envy of many other parts of Devon and Cornwall and especially Plymouth. The company has shown just what can be achieved by working well with local authorities and has built up an impressive modern fleet of low floor double deckers on services which a few years ago were all run by minibuses.

With Stagecoach publically anouncing its looking for expansion of its bus operation, and having the spare cash to do it operators in Plymouth will be keeping a much closer eye on activities up the road. The Devon team have shown their Stagecoach bosses that if they are given new buses then they can use them to generate growth. I think its only fair to say that Stagecoach Devon probably find it easier to argue for new stock than the First Devon & Cornwall management. It does appear that things may be turning around for First D&C but years of problems are not going to be sorted overnight and having a much more sucessful operation on the doorstep, and Stagecoach not being afraid to go head to head with First Group elsewhere in the country can not make life any easier for them

Of course the easiest way into the Plymouth bus market is Plymouth Citybus. This is one of just a few survivors of what used to be many local authority owned bus companies. With the City Council under financial strain like any other council the sale of Plymouth Citybus must be an option at the back of councillors minds. First have made no secret that they would be interested. I cant imagine Stagecoach sitting back and letting that happen!

There is an excellent article on the Omnibuses blog about the history of Stagecoach which is well worth a read. I end with a quote from the Omnibus Blog from 24th June on the anouncment of the sale of Stagecoach London:

Another implication is that Stagecoach has signalled to the remaining independents and municipals that it is ready and waiting with its cheque book, pen poised. It wouldnÂ’t be too inaccurate to say that the sale proceeds are enough to buy outright just about all the remaining municipals, for example, or others. More on this again, next week, when we reveal our Top 40 Best Buys.

This will make interesting reading - Plymouth Citybus will certainly be there somewhere - my guess in the top ten?

SoapBox Sunday - Destination Slop

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

It has been noticed recently that the appearance of the local FDC fleet has improved quite a bit over the past year and the fleet is looking better now than it has done for many years. Sadly for bus spotters this has been partly achieved by all but removing the elderly VRTs but its also by removing the older Mercedes bread vans and also by repainting many of the remaining older buses. Even though some of the incoming Leyland Olympians are well past their prime, and not much younger than the VRTs they do look pretty smart. So why does First go and spoil it by sloppy destination displays like this?

The destination blind has obviously come of one of the out going breadvans - Its much cheaper reusing them in other buses. But surely they could have at least tidied it up a bit. Even just some black masking tape on the destination glass to hide the edges would make a big improvement. This just looks like penny pinching and adds to the growing poor reputation of the company over the past year. Once a company gets a poor reputation it can be difficult to change it.

FDC has I think suprised people by the quality operation on the new Park and Ride service with very smart, and clean and tidy buses. Even when they were still in London red they looked smart. People I spoke to before they took over all expected FDC to mess things up and run a poor service. So far that has not been the case. It has been noticed that the small posters on the buses announcing "New buses coming Summer 2006" have been replaced with "New Buses coming soon" but the Tridents are so much better quality than any of the other double deckers we have (Torpoint Tridents excepted) that most passengers probably wont mind too much about that!

I hope that as the new management gets things sorted then the improvement will continue and that Citybus will finally get some serious competition in Plymouth. Passengers in Plymouth need it!

Soap Box Sunday: Staying in the shadow

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

I mentioned a few days ago of the City Councils plans for a new 'superbus' system in the early stages of planning to link The City centre, Plamstock and the planned new developments along that corridor. Well, I am broadly in favour of that so why mention here from my soapbox?

Well, try this quote from the original story on This is Plymouth:

But Cllr Kevin Wigens, shadow transport spokesman, said the plans were 'too
little, too late'.He said placing the 'superbus' system on former railway lines
was 'wasting an opportunity' where a monorail-style system could have been built
instead.

I am sorry, but if this is all they can come up with then its a good job he is the shadow transport spokesman. If you have been paying any attention to transport developments over the past year or so then you will realise that bus led schemes are all in favour and are actually attracting central government money in some places, whereas grand rail based schemes are very much out of favour, and therefore not being funded. As far as I know none of the other rejected schemes involved monorails either. Do they Conservatives really believe that a monorail system has any chance of being built at all?

Now before anyone accuses me of being a little bit too political here, just read back through my blog and you will see how little I think of the current labour administration of the council. Even one Labour councillor has defected from the party this week as he is so angry at how things are being done. Almost every week there is a new report saying that the council is failing, or doing well below average in the services it provides. We are continulally being promised lots and yet very little actually gets delivered. I would dearly love to see someone else come into power down here to sort things out. However, when the local conservatives come up with ideas like this then I am not sure I want them in power either. The local council has swung between Labour and Consverative several times and yet the result remains the same. It seems it not so much the politics of the councillors thats the issue - its the quallity of the councillors themselves thats the problem.

Whoever I vote for, the "council" always gets in.

Soap Box Sunday - Waiting for a transformation

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

As mentioned a day or so ago, First Devon & Cornwall are to face another Public Inquiry. It was not that long ago that they were given a massive fine. One wonders what they will get this time.

Now, it could be expected, if not excused, for a company in such poor financial health to experience operational difficulties. When that company is part of the largest bus group in the country and that large group has just posted this in the opening lines in its latest trading report:

Our UK Bus division has delivered a robust performance against a background of increased costs. We are very encouraged by strong on-bus revenue growth and improved operational performance, reflecting our focus on service quality and efficiency. We have taken a number of actions to mitigate the impact of increased fuel costs and will continue to rigorously manage the business. We are now fully hedged for approximately 38% of our Group fuel consumption for 2006/07.

Then there are less excuses for the poor performance.

Now read Omnibus blog from a few days ago.

There you will read of two other Public Inquiries which led to other, much more profitable First Bus Companies being heavily penalised for poor maintenance.

First obviously takes some pride in its work. It has clearly been doing some things right to be performing so well in some areas. Its rail division has had major success in gaining new contracts. The eyes of the industry are watching developments at York with the first 'ftr' about to hit the road, a concept which certainly seems to be a good idea on paper and is viewed as the future alternative to more expensive rapid transit schemes by the current government.

First Group have a very poor public image. The rail francise which starts this weekend has been greeted with fear and anger down here as its seen as bringing a massive reduction in services. Compare all this with Stagecoach at the moment. You dont see as many negative stories about them at the moment.

First Devon & Cornwall have a new MD now so hopefully things will start to improve soon (although I seem to remember thinking that when Mr Taylor joined us!).

so Come on First... You promised to transform travel, we're still waiting...

Soap Box Sunday- Free Travel

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

As the free travel scheme starts next Saturday it has been interesting watching the subject starting to appear in local news sites across the country as pensioners slowly begin to find out exactly what they are getting (or not getting) in the way of free travel.

Typical is this story:

An older bus user is angry about a new free travel scheme for over-60s which will leave him out of pocket because he has to travel in the rush hour.The Government scheme, which starts on Saturday, April 1, gives free bus travel after 8.30am, but takes no account of the increasing army of elderly workers who use public transport. The change also means the old concessionary pass system, which benefited many workers over 60, will be thrown out.From next month, Kingsley Canham, 61, who has to leave much earlier than 8.30am to get to work on time, will have to pay full fares - doubling his travel costs. Full story

Note that this is Norfolk where the council has agreed to pay a bit extra to fund an hour extension and start at 08:30 instead of 09:30 which is the governments suggested time. Plymouth of course has just gone for the minimum it can get away with. Many pensioners who work will be caught out having to pay full fare. Stories like this are appearing all over the country - although I have seen little down here where the local paper seems dis-interested.

Of course it cant have been missed that the recent budget has promised a national scheme from 2008. So why couldnt it have been a national scheme in the first place? Because once again its just a cynical ploy by Gordon Brown to make it look like he is thinking about pensioners when the rest of the budget is clearly unfriendly to this increasingly vocal group.

Bus operators too are expecting a difficult time of it. In Cumberland there is this report about the major operators difficulties.

BUS operators across Cumbria are gearing up for a huge increase in passengers when subsidised travel for pensioners is implemented across the country. Stagecoach North West, Cumbria’s biggest operator, faces a logistical nightmare as six different schemes are introduced in the county. The company anticipates an increase in demand of between 10 per cent and 40 per cent from April 1. It already has plans to double the frequency of some popular services and plans to take on extra staff to cope. The company is also training staff to deal with the complex system of fares caused by the differing schemes offered by the various district councils. Stagecoach North West boss Nigel Barrett said: “It’s not quite as simple as free fares for pensioners – it depends on where you live and what your local authority has decided to implement as a scheme. “It is extremely complicated. In Cumbria we have six different authorities and four different schemes, because each of the local authorities has done their own thing. “We are looking very carefully at all services to make sure there is sufficient space on them when it starts.”

Last year’s budget saw the Government announce free off-peak bus travel for over-60s. However, Cumbria’s six district councils went a step further and decided to offer add-on benefits. Mr Barrett added: “It is an absolutely massive headache – there are 27 different schemes we deal with in the North West. “There could be a pensioner boarding a bus from Carlisle going to Newcastle and there are seven different fares we could issue depending on where they come from. “It’s a complicated set-up compared to the Scottish scheme, it’s appalling. We are desperately trying to get our house in order to make sure that drivers understand on April 1.” FirstEdinburgh, who run the service from Carlisle to the Scottish capital, have already trained their drivers. Adding to the confusion, the new fares schemes across Cumbria will be introduced on the same day as Scotland introduces free travel for pensioners throughout the country.

A really good read which I think sums up the cynical nature of all this from Gordon Brown is in the Telegraph.

Brown robs pensioners blind, then offers free coach trips

In the old days, poorer pensioners used to go to a public library when they wanted to keep warm. But now that so many libraries are shutting down or restricting their opening hours, Gordon Brown has offered the elderly an alternative refuge from the cold.

In his Budget speech, Mr Brown failed to explain what national interest would be served by making all taxpayers (including the elderly) foot the bill for pensioners' coach tickets. All he said was: "From April 1, there will be free local bus travel for every pensioner and for disabled people. But I believe that there should also be free national bus travel."
Well, what a peculiar thing to believe - no less extraordinary than believing that the Government should give all pensioners a free rubber duck for their baths or a free cuckoo clock for the wall.

Well, I do hope that many pensioners will get some use out of the scheme and that it will prove useful. I hope that those who do find the restrictions to free travel restrict their use of the buses, will not take it out on the driver. Somehow this last 'hope' is probably the one which wont be realised!

Soap Box Sunday- Free Travel

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

I make no apologies for coming back to this subject again. It is such a mess and once again the people of Plymouth are getting a bum deal. Thanks to the City Council for that.

I have been looking at the arrangements across Devon & Cornwall and it soon becomes apparent just how poor the Plymouth deal is. Cornwall County have a simple county wide scheme available all day. Journeys beginning or ending in Cornwall.

Devon things are slightly different. Most of Devon have a good county wide scheme for travel all over Devon after 9am. This includes travel in the two areas not in the scheme: East Devon and Plymouth.

East Devon are quite apologetic and put it down to negotiations with the other councils. At the moment they have a local scheme only. No time restrictions mentioned. They do say they will be reviewing the restrictions so it may yet join the county wide scheme.

So, Plymouth. What delights do you have to tempt your citizens? Not much really. Plymouth wide travel only. After 9.30am weekdays. And it looks like for blind people and the over 80's free travel is only available until 11.pm! Does this mean they will have to pay to catch the last bus home?

One other thing I have noticed is the different presentation styles of the councils. See the Cornwall web page about the scheme. This page is linked to from most of the local authorities in the scheme. I found it nice and easy - most people will.

Devon have a similar page which offers a good clear explanation of the scheme which is also easy to find on their web site.

East Devon who like Plymouth offer a poor scheme do at least have a decent web page to explain it all.

But then we come to Plymouth. Oh dear. After a lot of searching I found this less than friendly page. It may have the basic details but you get the feeling they don't really want too many people to know about the scheme they are offering.

Once again Plymouth City Council offer us the worst they can get away with. You really feel they just cant be bothered with it all. I am sure they must have much better things to be getting on with.

Please don't think I am being party political here. The whole free travel scheme is over complicated and expensive - that's Gordon Browns fault. That what he does with everything.

But when local authorities who want to make a difference for their citizens get together they can come up with decent travel schemes. Devon & Cornwall show that.

And I am not just against the local Labour run City Council. Plymouth City Council has show contempt for the people of Plymouth for many years. The political flavour of the council at any moment in time seems to make no difference. Which ever group is in charge the result for people in Plymouth is a poor service in almost all areas of governance.

Soap Box Sunday

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

After many false promises over the years it now does seem highly likely that the last VRTs will be departing from Plymouth within the next few weeks.

This is a major occasion for bus enthusiasts as Plymouth has been home to Western National VRTs for years. Up until the last year or so VRTs could still be found plodding along on even the major routes like the X80. Somehow Torpoint wont be the same without the VRT. Bretonside bus station will be even more depressing than it is already.

Well, OK, I may be over reacting here! It has been recognised by even us hardened VRT fans that the state of most of our local VRT fleet has been little short of disgusting considering they are being run by the biggest bus company in the UK. The replacement buses are not that much newer but are a lot more comfortable for most non enthusiast passengers.

But, The sad thing seems to be that be buses will be quietly withdrawn and sent to scrap without any fanfare at all. I may yet be proved wrong, but we could wake up one morning to hear that they are gone, and are no more. I know we cant expect the over the top fanfare that the Routemaster received in London, but surely a small VRT last day event could be held?

Of course, its not just First who are guilty here. The Leyland Atlantean has also all but disappeared from Plymouth. They have slowly been sold off to Roselyn in Cornwall with just one left,as far as I know. 171 TTT171X is still around and was noted in service this week. Plymouth has been a loyal home to Atlanteans almost since day one. I just hope that Citybus don't just let them slip away without any final farewell.

Soapbox Sunday

12 February 2006 Soap Box Sunday

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

Going back to the news story I mentioned yesterday of the impending possibilty of strike action by Plymoth Citybus drivers. I wont comment on the rights and wrongs of the strike as I dont know the details of the charges against the driver whose dismissal has caused this problem.

What has drawn my attention though is the news article on This Is Plymouth web site. Readers can leave comments on the news story. Usually there are not that many comments left, but this story has attracted 26 comments as I write this blog.

i whole heartedly support citybus in this case to many drivers drive without a thought for there passengers safety

Time and again I have nearly had a car accident through buses pulling out and THEN indicating. Bus drivers seem to have no respect for others on the road, often using their size of vehicle as a threat.

I have been on many Citybus buses and seen many examples of, at best 'careless' driving. Well done Citybus for taking action.

I travel on Citybus buses everyday and frankly the drivers attitude and standard of driving sucks big time!

and my 'favourite' has to be

i get city bus every day and their driving stinks, they all need to take driving lesson and learn some manners as well. before anyone comments i do not drive and can only get city bus . they also need to turn up on time some buses do not even turn up making people late for work.

Its not all one way traffic though, there are one or two drivers there (and a couple of passengers too) who put the other side of the argument:

You should all try doing the job, the man made a mistake, he's only a human, not a robot, its a hard job, we put up with all sorts, drunks, violence, spat at, you name it and we get it, and all for £250 per week.

All too often we see bus drivers being treated like dirt. I know that in this country public servants often have to put up with a certain amount of agro from the public they serve, but somehow bus drivers seem to get the worse end, and often very little sympathy from the public when it gets reported. If a bus driver spends twenty minutes sitting in the same traffic jam as everyone else is, its somehow his fault that the bus is late. When the managers of the bus company impose massive fare increases - its the driver who has to take the blame. If he/she makes any attempt to detract the blame to the management - then the driver is obviusly just being extremely rude (I have seen this myself on a Citybus recently)

The lady above who comments 'all need to take driving lesson and learn some manners as well.' seems to think that all bus drivers are bad. I wonder if she will be telling her bus driver that on Monday morning when she goes to work on the bus?

didbygraham

Soap Box Sunday!

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

Back to the Branch line threat I mentioned a few days ago. I have now had a chance to read properly the document "Consultatation on the implementation of the Railways Act 2005 provisions on closures and minor modifications." (PDF)

As usual these documents are written in such a way to make them difficult to understand properly and I am sure I have missed many things in them.

The biggest area of concern for me is who can ask for a line to be closed and the reasons they can give.

Under the Act, a closure can be proposed by a rail funding authority or a train or
network operating company. The rail funding authorities specified in the Act are the
Secretary of State for Transport, Scottish Ministers, the National Assembly for Wales, the
English Passenger Transport Authorities and the Mayor of London. Where a train or
network operating company proposes a closure, a view on whether it should be brought
into effect must be taken by the rail funding authority.

And one of the most alarming reasons why a line can be closed...

In deciding whether or not to close a line, network or station, an authority or operator
will want to take into account a wide range of considerations. These will probably include:
• the other calls on funding, including investments unable to be undertaken or
services unable to be supported because funds are tied up supporting underused
assets and services.

In other words an operator can ask for a line closure if they think that they can make more money by running their trains on other lines. This on its own can probably be given as a good reason to close almost any branch line these days.

Of course the paper gives lots of good sounding paragraphs about all the other things that have to be taken into consideration but I do wonder just how safe these under-performing lines are.

Basically to close a line the operator has to undertake a full assessment to make its case for closure. Then the Rail Funding Authority has to make a decision based on the assessment on whether to proceed with the closure. This then requires ratification by the Office of Rail Regulation to see if the assessments have been carried out correctly. All this can be done over a period of time and although a public consultation has to take place there is no statutory requirement for a public hearing.

Just how much of a threat to our own branch lines down here is difficult to assess at the moment. I guess time will tell but I am not confident.

From April the branch lines down here will be taken over by First Group as part of the new franchise. Although First may be better at running trains than they are at running buses, to many people down here First Group will be better known for how they run the local bus service. You will find very few people down here who think that they have done a good job. For many passengers in Cornwall for example the only hope of getting a decent bus service is to wait for First Devon & Cornwall to withdraw and then hope that someone like Western Greyhound takes over.

There is an excellent series on Bus Deregulation which is now up to part 4 on the Omnibus blog. One of the biggest fears pre D-day was that 'cowboy' operators would move in on established bus routes and run elderly sub-standard buses on busy routes, undermining decent operations. In some areas this did indeed happen. If you look at some of the fleet which FDC is running in Cornwall especially at the moment and you would think nothing has changed. The thought that the same outfit will be running the local trains is one which makes people a little bit nervous!

It remains to be seen how First treat the remaining branch lines in Devon & Cornwall. It could in theory open up more travel possibilities with more combined bus and train journies being promoted to the benefit of all passengers - or it could just be seen as a way of getting the lines withdrawn, and passing more business onto the buses which they also run. Lets just hope its the former and not the latter.

If anyone who reads this blog has any thought on this - or any other topic raised then please let me know!

Soap Box Sunday

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

Daily Telegraph:
Plans to give Britain's over-60s free bus travel were in disarray last night as councils across the country complained they did not have enough money to pay for the scheme.
While the programme is going ahead smoothly in some areas, elsewhere local authorities are considering cutting other subsidies to meet the bill. continues...

Compare the Scottish scheme as promised by the Scottish Executive
Plans for free, unrestricted national bus travel for Scotland's older people and those with disabilities was announced today. In a statement to Parliament today, Transport Minister Nicol Stephen said existing concessionary travel schemes would be expanded to unlimited Scotland-wide free bus travel, as well as two free return ferry trips a year for older and disabled residents of Scotland's islands, from April 2006. Mr Stephen said:
"From 2006 all older and disabled people will be entitled to Scotland-wide free bus travel.
"The Executive made this commitment last year and today we are delivering. The new scheme goes further than we promised, offering free travel to all parts of Scotland at any time of the day - not just off peak periods. "This is a major expansion of our existing free bus scheme. It will open up opportunities and provide greater access to vital health and community services.
"A free national bus travel scheme will further improve the quality of life for over one million people in Scotland by opening access to greater travel choice. It will connect communities across the country.
Continues..

It does seem that the Scottish system will succeed because it appears to be introduced with the aim of improving lives for Scottish pensioners and the disabled. It will undoubtedly be expensive and quite probably difficult to manage and administer but there is a will to make it work.

The new scheme for England only promises...

• A new scheme from April 2006 will increase the statutory minimum requirement in Transport Act 2000 from half fares to free fares for older and disabled people on local bus services in England, with no charge for the annual pass.
• People over 60 and people with disabilities will benefit from free bus travel within the area of the local authority where they live (district councils in shire areas), from 9.30 am Monday to Friday and all day at weekends.
• 
  
Local authorities will retain their existing discretion to offer enhancements to schemes, including providing travel over a wider area eg county-wide schemes; concessions on other modes such as rail, light rail, or ferry, and weekday travel before 9.30 am.
Authorities will also be able to continue to offer travel token schemes as an alternative to a free local bus pass.
• Around 11 million people in England over 60 will be guaranteed free local bus travel. Disabled people eligible for concessionary fares will also benefit. Of course some of these people have already benefited from free fares under local authorities which have implemented discretionary schemes. Around 9 million people will get free fares from April 2006 in areas where they previously did not do so.

In other words a real mis-mash of schemes totally dependent on where you live and, more importantly, how much Central Government cash is going into the area you live. We are not all equal!

If you live on a border between local authorities you can have two next door neighbours having different access to free travel. The system in Plymouth is city-wide only. Devon is County wide. This can make a big difference. Some local authorities have a good public transport record - Devon being one of them. The areas where public transport is not so well supported will probably end up even worse off than before. (Plymouth might just fit into this category?)

I think the key to all this is amply explained in just one line in the Telegraph report above..

"The introduction of nationwide free bus travel was a key-plank in Gordon Brown's
pre-election Budget as he sought to win the "grey vote" for Labour."

The English scheme has been introduced with the sole aim of securing votes for New Labour. No real though went into it at the time. When they did sit down and start looking at it they realised it would be difficult to administer so they left it to local authorities to sort out. If it all goes wrong - it will be blamed on the authorities themselves. No blame will be accepted by central government for the mess they make. All this from a central Government who are better known for trying to take control of local public services away from local authority control.

If by some miracle it all does work out well - you can be sure who will take the credit!