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	<title>TAS Transport Briefing</title>
	<link>http://taspublications.co.uk/blog</link>
	<description>Comment and Analysis from the UK&#039;s leading passenger transport specialists</description>
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		<title>Sudden recession drop tips Reading into the red</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Reading Transport, the council-owned bus operator, recorded a £1.45m pre-tax loss during the year to 4 October 2009, as the impact of the recession drove turnover down by over 3%, according to its annual accounts. The directors report that revenue fell during the year by 3.3% to £26.2m, following a fall in patronage from March [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://taspublications.co.uk/blog/?p=324</link>
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		<title>BSOG abolition: making a crisis out of a drama?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s funny how a question asked by a colleague can set you thinking. Earlier this week, I got an e-mail from somebody whose boss had asked him a question about fuel costs in the bus industry: what had happened to fuel costs since 1986? It was interesting, because the standard response is “well, of course [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://taspublications.co.uk/blog/?p=313</link>
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		<title>Lothian returns to profit despite patronage fall</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Lothian Buses, the publlicly owned comany that runs the majority of the local bus network in Edinburgh and its environs, moved decisively back into the black during the year to 31 December 2009 after making a small loss last year. According to its annual accounts, revenue was 8.3% ahead at £112.2m, whilst operating costs were [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://taspublications.co.uk/blog/?p=309</link>
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		<title>Little Black Dresses</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Introduction What is the relevance of little black dresses, you may ask? The intention of this piece is to look at the bus market from some different angles and look at some of the key ways in which the bus industry differs from other service industries and retail sectors. We may become very familiar with [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://taspublications.co.uk/blog/?p=298</link>
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		<title>Bus fares: Mr Baker’s puzzlement ended</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I see from the trade press that transport minister Norman Baker has once again been expressing puzzlement over the fact that motoring costs have generally fallen in real terms over recent years, whilst bus fares have generally risen by more than inflation. Since this is fairly fundamental to his considerations of future policy as a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://taspublications.co.uk/blog/?p=293</link>
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		<title>Hennessey spot on?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The esteemed Professor Peter Hennessy, the modern and constitutional historian, knows a thing or two about Government and public policy-making. He&#8217;s quoted in today&#8217;s Financial Times as saying that members of the political class reach the top not by evidence-based policy &#8220;but by mobilising prejudice more effectively than the competition.&#8221; As the FT&#8217;s own fascinating [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://taspublications.co.uk/blog/?p=290</link>
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		<title>Ten points we need to understand about the bus industry</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s always rather amusing to read an article which argues with a case you have made, only to find that the person is arguing with something he thinks you said rather than what you actually said. It’s also occasionally frustrating, because it becomes quite clear that the people doing the arguing have either not read [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://taspublications.co.uk/blog/?p=281</link>
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		<title>Sir Humphrey and Bus Profits &#8211; good politics, bad policy</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Students of the much loved TV series &#8220;Yes, Minister&#8221; and &#8220;Yes, Prime Minister&#8221; will be familiar with many of the techniques employed by both politicians and civil servants in order to manage public opinion and to look after their own interests, if necessary at the expense of others – including their own colleagues, businesses and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://taspublications.co.uk/blog/?p=273</link>
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		<title>Lack of regulation, 1907 style</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Guardian&#8217;s &#8216;On This Day&#8217; feature for June 24 (click here to view) contained a report on the opening of the Charing Cross &#8211; Hampstead tube, now part of the Northern Line. Sir Edgar Speyer (Chairman of the Underground Electric Railways Company) is quoted as saying &#8220;&#8230;it was a matter of regret that the problem [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://taspublications.co.uk/blog/?p=270</link>
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		<title>Recession dents Brighton profits</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Award-winning operator Brighton &#38; Hove Bus and Coach Company saw profits fall during the year ended 27 June 2009, according to its annual accounts. Results were affected by the onset of the recession and changes in traffic patterns following the introduction of England-wide free concessionary travel in April 2008. Turnover in the business rose by [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://taspublications.co.uk/blog/?p=267</link>
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