Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 1:49 pm on 22 November 2017.
That delay in the franchising process I was deeply disappointed by. We overcame that. We now have three bidders—three bidders—who will be submitting their tenders by 21 December, and all three are world class. The alternative to the risks that the Member has identified would have been to do nothing and to maintain on the current terms the current franchise arrangements. Could you argue that that would be in the best interests of the passengers that have to experience services today? Because I don't think many of the people sitting around you would argue that that's the case. We are delivering a step change through the new franchise. We will deliver that with a world-class bidder.