The taxpayer will always contribute towards bus services in one way or another.
But if we have heavy investment in £3 fares and the bus service improvement plans, and we still see passenger numbers drop, what does that say? A waste of money? Whoever is implementing the schemes doesn't really know what they are doing?
Capped fares may help in some instances, but not in others. That's why some operators opted out of the scheme. It is too much of a one size fits all approach.
Back to Trent Barton, I think they need to up their game in some areas, and get the product right - fewer cancellations, better monitoring of services to maintain even frequencies, even when faced with delays. Too many services bunch up and remain bunched. On the flip side, look at red arrow, it is busy, a success, and there is no £3 fare caps on the service.
It was interesting that for the Christmas lights switch on in Derby the council offered cheaper car parking for the day in the city centre. No discount for bus users though, no mention of them in the marketing for the event. it all paints a picture of a very disjointed approach which I'm sure is replicated in other areas too.