Psv muscle gets flabbier
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OVER THE YEARS established bus operators behaved as if they had a divine right to run buses. They have sought to preserve the network not because of customer demand but out of a desire for self-preservation.
Perhaps this is symptomatic of declining industry. Most businesses come about because an entrepreneur sees an opportunity to make money. Not to provide a service, note — to make money.
This is as true of the corner shop as it is of the biggest bus operator. What does the shopkeeper do when he stops making money? Shut up shop.
Are buses any different? Every service withdrawal affects those who previously used the service. They have to find an alternative. It may simply be the next bus if there is one) or it may be an alternative means of fulfilling the original purpose of the journey, Instead of going to see a friend, write a letter. Instead of taking a bus to the shops, use Yellow Pages, or walk. The alternatives are endless, and many bus operators have in the past failed to realise this, While the business climate has changed, operators' pbjectives have moved .ncertainly, thanks in no small pt:rt to a lack of clear thinking by gov •rnment but aided in turn by ineffeetive lobbying by operaters themselves.
Now operators make threats about withdrawing rural services using the argument "give us more money or else ..." with the county councils who are paying out subsidies.
Or else what? Or else services will be reduced? Is that necessarily so terrible? There are villages which have never had a bus service but which have survived. One of the criteria for building an urban railway line is population density from which it is possible to estimate use. Some attention could usefully be paid to population density (and car ownership levels) by bus operators. Where population density falls below a certain level, there is likely never to be enough demand to make a bus service cost-effective.
Are shared cars and taxis and community minibuses riot a better answer? Bus operators say no, because they do not make any money out of car sharing, taxis and community buses. But they're not making any money out of big buses either.
Urban operations are different. There the bus can perform a valuable social function in keeping city centres relatively pollution free.
Yet even here the pattern is changing. Some large stores have moved to the outskirts where car parks are cheaper to build. Shopping patterns are changing and will continue to do so — does the bus industry fully recognise this?
The main costs of urban bus operation are related to the peak. The peak dictates fleet size and staff establishment. Peak services are slow. Time equals money. Yet peak traffic is encouraged by offering low fares for regular travellers. What other business charges its lowest prices in the periods of highest demand?
Bus operators have themselves done a lot to create their present financial problems. They should surely be fixing peak period prices which cover peak period costs and giving concessions to off-peak travellers., This doesn't necessarily mean that peak period fares have to be higher. An alternative to high peak fares would be to seek a subsidy to cover the costs of peak operation.
If, on the other hand, peak fares are increased and passenger loadings fall, losses can be reduced as expensive services are cut back.
The day seems to be fast approaching when bus operators will cease trying to be pseudo-commercial organisations and when all operational decisions will be made by politicians on social grounds.
But the industry as a whole should be deciding now just what it does want — what role should it play in the Eighties? What lobbying has it to do to achieve its aims when it knows what they are?
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