A far higher proportion of people answered the question on whether Stagecoach was a Good Thing in Eastbourne than considered whether Transit magazine was right to go to monthly.
About two thirds who responded felt that Stagecoach’s move into Eastbourne was the right thing. They no doubt had in mind sustainability, network benefits and vehicle investment—all previously absent in the town.
There was a time when I was surprised at the level of comments to my posts. This was because, when I started this blog, I hardly noticed the Comments facility. Not any more. The debate is at a very high standard and no more so than after Friday’s post on Eastbourne and the OFT. Here are some snapshots. I’d encourage anyone interested to see all the comments in full, adding their own if they feel so moved.
One anonymous contributor stated, “Councils rarely make good bus operators as they are not commercially-minded concerns”. On the other hand, this can also give a social dividend which, though hard to measure, supports the view that companies should stay under municipal control. The difference in Eastbourne was the operator was loss making.
There was a comment from (an occasional?) Eastbourne buses user who contrasted experiences under Eastbourne Buses and Stagecoach, in favour of the latter.
Two commenters, Venturer and Observer, considered the referral a waste of public money (and I wonder whether we ever get to know how much this costs—perhaps worth a freedom of information request). Observer also stated that the OFT fix the evidence.
Two commenters considered Stagecoach’s reputation in the 1990s. Andecker said, “Stagecoach argues that the industry has matured and so too has its negotiation techniques” then citing Preston was somewhat dubious. Andecker was pleased that the OFT was considering the Eastbourne situation.
An anonymous person pondered whether any of the other larger industry players, other than Stagecoach, were particularly keen on Eastbourne. He further felt that “Cavendish seem only to have been successful on the back of Eastbourne's weakness.”
