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Have you made an FOI request? Given the way Hulleys were operating, they may have marginally costed those routes that they took on and/or the post Covid environment saw routes that were barely covering their costs then become unsustainable. I suspect the reality was that the services weren't...

Surprised they were still about. Not turned a wheel in two years except when being to different storage locations. Assume disposal?

They’re still 15 years old and with so many EVs, there’s no shortage of secondhand vehicles on the market and First have no need for them.

Exactly - if they want to cash in, they could. However, in the meantime, they're keeping it until the decide otherwise. It is a very old site though - built in 1932 apparently - although reclad and improved in recent years. Still young compared to Arriva Southport though.

Not as far as I'm aware, other than that they have an existing base (no set up costs) and have been successful in obtaining work in Greater Manchester and Merseyside already. If they're unsuccessful, then they can either keep it or sell it and find a smaller, cheaper site.

The idea of Rock Ferry is, in the short term, to act as the Merseyside and Cheshire maintenance hub and to be a base from which to secure Merseyside schools work plus other stuff over the border as well as the X1. I was a bit surprised that Stagecoach are keeping it. That's essentially what...

So what you are suggesting is some sort of very limited safety net for local buses and schools contracts for if a contractor loses an O license of goes belly up. That's really dealing with the outcome rather than preventing these sorts of operators and it is very limited as it doesn't cover all...

The thing is that you do this for local bus services but what about coach operators? Remember that a lot of what A&A was doing related not just to schools work but stuff like rail replacement. What about hauliers - they account for far more issues that coach and bus operators. If you appoint...

Don’t get me wrong - I do agree it’s what should be done but as we’ve seen with Clayton Jones, his wife simply set up a new business that most definitely wasn’t to do with him ;) My point was it’s not a panacea. Practically, how does that happen though? Who employs staff, takes on lease agreements?

I do remember that. It was instances like that and much higher profile ones like the Zeebrugge disaster that led to the law being changed. Closer to home (literally) was the Bath truck crash in 2015 - a location I pass fairly regularly where 4 people were killed. The driver was exonerated...

They can but I think it's unlikely to be an issue in this instance. As I said earlier, Stagecoach are a provider to LCRCA and they'll be keen to establish/maintain a good relationship so if it means a retiming of the X2, it's no biggie.

There is both a pre-eminent responsibility to ensure the public are safe. At the same time (and to a lesser degree), they have to be fair to operators and the people employed and dependant on them and their livelihoods. It is sometimes incredible to think that the TC has to be more legally...

The X2 will be reliant on a permit to operate in the area. I'm sure that as part of that, they (LCRCA) will require/ask Stagecoach to amend their timings so there is a balanced headway. Doubtless, Stagecoach as a provider of services to the same authority, and seeking to develop/protect that...

It is a very sobering read.

I think you've misinterpreted @Fawkes Cat's comment. The idea is that to the public there is a single integrated image irrespective of whether it's a bus, a train, or a ferry.

Well that one sneaked through. Nice if you fancy a bit of heritage action.

That's not what public procurement allows. They have to pass the pre-qual (which they did) and then you judge their submission without prior knowledge.

Again, I think you're bang on. It would seem that they're after a consistent brand irrespective of mode, and you can see the logic in that.

I think this is it in a nutshell. In this respect, the neutrality is a benefit in that it can be readily applied and, as you say, it perhaps doesn't have the political issues of branding something Mersey-esque when some areas may not see themselves that way. As @Djgr states, some on the Wirral...

I've had the delights of Arriva (incl. waterbuses) in Copenhagen, Slovenia and, I think, between Lake Garda and Verona on a service from Brescia in Northern Italy. You're probably not far wrong ;)