INSIDE TRACK
Why should TfGM be precluded from buying First’s bus business if it could come up with a business plan to turn round the business and it could be acquired at a sensible price?
I hope readers will forgive me for returning to the subject of First and Manchester, but, like Brexit, what has actually happened is far worse than if everyone concerned had sat down and asked how can we make the biggest mess of this. The background can be found in my Inside Track last July.
There have been a couple of interesting developments in Manchester. One is that the 18 bus operators, under their very capable chief executive Gary Nolan, have published an alternative plan for the network under the OneBus brand, which promises £100million of investment in three years for a unified network.
They appear ready to implement the plan, which should be good news for passengers. It correctly singles out congestion as a main issue, and more bus priorities are essential if the relentless decline in punctuality is to be reversed.
That requires action by Transport for Greater Manchester. But of the £243million Transforming Cities fund available, it has allocated £160million for cycling and walking, £83million for more trams and nothing for buses.
