Is it time to bring buses back into public ownership?
By Lizzie Kennedy
Sunday 24th September marked a milestone in Greater Manchester as Andy Burnham launched the Bee Network, bringing buses under public control and overhauling nearly 40 years of privatisation. The new franchised system will see local authorities take control of route planning and bus fares, aiming to reverse the deregulation under Margaret Thatcher’s leadership. The 1985 Transport Act caused the transition from municipal-owned buses to a free market, which the Conservative government predicted would result in “lower fares, new services, and more passengers”. Since 2005, fares have increased by 71% in England and service efficiency has declined. Across the UK, calls to shift to public ownership of buses have pushed local authorities to consider taking action.
The introduction of the Bus Services Act 2017 by the Conservative government allowed local transport authorities to institute bus franchising, with Mr Burnham being the first to take advantage of the franchising powers. Now that he has delivered on his promise to re-regulate Greater Manchester’s buses, can we expect to see other mayors take the driving seat for local bus reformation?
Across the UK, calls to shift to public ownership of buses have pushed local authorities to consider taking action.
Operating the majority of services in Edinburgh, the UK’s largest public bus company Lothian Buses has led the way in demonstrating successful public ownership of buses, having the highest satisfaction rates in the UK and returning £5.5mn to Edinburgh City Council. Similarly, Reading Buses which is municipally owned invests £3mn annually back into its network. Without private shareholders to pay dividends back to has resulted in Reading Buses’ higher-quality and environmentally cleaner services. Reading Buses’ modern bio-gas buses produce significantly less carbon dioxide emissions; up to 84% compared to a new diesel double-decker bus. It is perhaps unsurprising that Reading, like Lothian, consistently ranks highly in customer satisfaction surveys. ‘We Own It’, a platform that campaigns for UK public services to be run under public ownership claimed that 65% of the public want buses under public ownership, also identifying that publicly owned bus services have won the UK Bus Operator of the Year award 5 of the last 7 years. Now, other mayors are looking at following Mr Burnham’s suit and considering the advantages in response to a public majority wanting to move away from bus privatisation.
West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin plans to launch a London-style franchising scheme in 2027. It would see the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) have full control of the bus network to make decisions about routes, services, and fares. Since passenger numbers have plummeted as a result of the pandemic, operators have claimed the necessity of cutting services due to difficulties in covering costs. Ms Brabin recently stated that “In West Yorkshire, a company can cut a route and then completely isolate a community and people have no option but to use expensive taxis in a cost-of-living crisis”. Ms Brabin’s shift towards publicly owned buses seeks to tackle the social exclusion of citizens living in rural areas and restore public transportation use to pre-pandemic levels.
“Franchising could be a great solution, but it’s clear it also brings financial risk to taxpayers”
Dan Norris, Mayor of the West of England has been called on over the past few months to explore bus franchising, particularly due to high congestion rates in Bristol, and is now taking the first steps towards public control. The Bristol Green party has previously stressed the negative environmental impact of bus privatisation. Mr Norris has been in discussion with Mr Burnham since the first rollout of Bee Network buses, taking a slightly more cautious approach saying, “Franchising could be a great solution, but it’s clear it also brings financial risk to taxpayers”. Whilst franchising may come at a cost to the taxpayer, the decline in satisfaction rates with local buses in the West of England, down from 57% in 2020/2021 to 49% in 2021/2022, and issues with congestion, the pressure will be increased on Mr Norris to speed up the timeline for franchising.
Under public control, Greater Manchester hopes to reap the economic benefits of a London-style system. Should we see improvements in passenger numbers, productivity, and environmental rates over the coming months in Manchester, it seems likely other local authorities will start to set the ball rolling to mirror Mr Burnham’s transport measures.
Image: Ingy the Wingy via Wikimedia Commons
