| Comment | Transport is deregulated. Anybody can register a bus service and run any route they see fit.
There used to be lots of competition all over the city but dwindling transport subsidies and LEZ forced smaller operators away from the city or completely killed them off. (LEZ started years ago for buses with gradual introduction then scaling up percentages of fleet compliance over the course of several years.)
Everybody on here greets like fuck about buses but the reality of it is the costs to operate a bus service is huge and the margins are thin.
There is an understanding between the big companies that competition doesn’t really suit anybody. There is only so much growth a particular bus route can have so if they all start running on each others routes all it does is spark a bus war and split the pie. Competition along the likes of Paisley Rd West and down Pollokshaws Rd between First, McGills and Stagecoach is just enough to keep the authorities happy. |
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