[scrollaway]

In most of the UK, buses are operated by private corps. It's actually fairly annoying as it means a ticket for one bus doesn't work in another, and there is no way to get a generic bus pass... but I don't see why it shouldn't be this way, to be honest.

[Rotten194]

Because this is a 2-year pilot program. What happens when after people grow reliant on it, the city buses fall into disuse and disrepair, and then Google decides they don't want to continue it?

Public services should be provided by the government. For someone who lives in a country with a NHS, I think you would realize that.

[dragonwriter]

Governments do pilot programs as well. What happens at the end is the government decides if it wants to continue it. With a privately funded pilot program, nothing stops the city from stepping in if the private sponsor steps out and the value to the public has been demonstrated.

[wereHamster]

In switzerland the GA (https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/railpasses/ga....) is valid on most public transportation, including those which are partially or completely private. And the card gives you reduced fare on many of the ski/mountain lifts. Also, I can buy a ticket for most of the participating companies with a single iPhone app (the 'SBB Mobile' app). The SBB btw is state owned.

[allendoerfer]

In Germany there are different companies operating trains, which is mostly abstracted away from the customer, so tickets are valid on different trains from different companies and can be bought at the same place most of the time. The intentions of this system are good and even if DB bullies its smaller competitors i like the concept. But much like in software, it gets messy, when the abstraction breaks and there is an exception to the rule. Users not knowing the underlying system get confused.

The SBB enjoys a perfect image here. I rose up near the border to Basel, where local trains are operated by the SBB. People mention all the time, how evil Die Bahn is, how perfect it once was, what terrible mistake it was to privatize it and how perfect the state owned SBB is.

Anecdotally i once went from Frankfurt to Milano by train. It arrived in Basel 20 minutes late, went through Switzerland without any incident, arrived in Italy, got stuck in a tunnel for an hour and had to change directions back to Switzerland. The train before us had broke down directly after the Italian border. Was glad to see my prejudices satisfied.

[imron]

>but I don't see why it shouldn't be this way, to be honest.

Because essential public services shouldn't be reliant on the whim of a company.

This is why we have taxes. If the city doesn't have enough money to be funding such services, it should perhaps look in to why Google pays so little tax.

[refurb]

Because essential public services shouldn't be reliant on the whim of a company.

I'm confused. I'm assuming that the UK uses tax money to hire private companies to provide the transit services. The public services aren't at the whim of a company, they are just provided by a company.

[imron]

Exactly, and companies are compelled by law to pay the taxes, as compared to companies providing these services out of good corporate citizenship.

[vertex-four]

> there is no way to get a generic bus pass

Sometimes, there's another private company which does sell generic bus passes. They tend to be extortionately expensive, though.