Halton Transport

[cfm146g]

RE: Halton Transport

(19/01/2020 14:50)johnluke Wrote:  Was it known all along ie stagecoach withdrawing their widnes journey and arriva trying to withdrew their x1 in preparation for this?

No. The bus network in Halton is not a cash cow as some seem to think. Stagecoach did not carry much on the X5. Arriva invested heavily with the Strider fleet in 2006 after losing out to Halton over the previous years since deregulation. This was to Halton's detriment but neither company is making a good run of it now and neither wants to back down from running services covering much the same areas with, between them, too many buses chasing too few passengers.
The common sense solution would be a quality partnership in the area. Both companies could reduce frequency and vehicle workings and share routes or take areas exclusively between them to make a leaner operation more profitable for both. But competition laws prevent this being agreed outside the QP framework and I am not aware of any moves to set up any such scheme.
Yes, there is a sort of bus war but a chronic disorder going back to the first registrations after Dereg in early 87 when Crosville registered the H20-25 services to run around the town centre and housing areas in Widnes instead of down the main roads. Since then it has been a stand off with the early advantage to Halton but tipping the other way in 2006. Where it will end is still anyone's guess.