Diesel Fumes Rise Over Transport Thinktank

"Rival bus operators should be allowed to collaborate on local timetables and tickets to cut waiting times at bus stops, according to the government's transport thinktank… they could thrash out timetables with local authorities that provide regular intervals between buses." – The Guardian. (full article)

Allowed to? They should be forced to. Provided that they also put legislation in place to cap already staggering fares and force the bus companies to collectively serve the whole damn city and not simply the plum routes. But the thinktank misses one important point; most places in Britain do not have a situation in which healthy competition drives each company to keep fares down and improve their services. One company always dominates simply because there are a small bunch of massive operators -- First, Stagecoach etc -- who have irons in fires all over the country. They have overwhelming clout and can set fares to suit themselves. In Sheffield, First has one major competitor -- Yorkshire Terrier – but the former company dwarves the latter by a massive factor, so the big boys have been able to create a network to suit themselves. New legislation resulting from the thinktank's ideas will not cater for this.

There is a larger issue about full public transport integration, but I wouldn't wish that discussion upon a dead donkey. The concept of this government reigning in the ugly brutes who run these major transport companies and generally favouring Joe Commuter over big business is laughable. And just thinking about it gives me a headache.