Also in this scene of one of Stagecoach's more highly regarded Alexander bodied Volvos are a number of Independent buses, but now it seems in Central Manchester the big boys have at last got it all to themselves as eventually the last one JPT of Middleton sold out. So it has come full-circle and Deregulation defeated itself as rather than encouraging fair competition the large groups have squeezed the life-blood out of any serious competition just allowing them an existence on the margins where it's hard to operate without subsidy. London has a strict tendering and quality regime but even though operators like Stagecoach seem to usually provide a good service outside the major conurbations amongst the big groups there is often a remoteness between the public and the operator resulting in a couldn't care less 'take it or leave it' attitude amongst employees.
Surely deregulation was never intended to improve public transport:it was just another asset-stripping exercise as with the privatisation of energy/utilities and anything else that can be plundered.
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