Liverpool City Region takes steps to bring bus services under public control

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has announced plans to bring the region’s buses back under public control.

The move, when completed, would create a regulated bus network across the Liverpool City Region for the first time since the 1980s.

Under the plans, private operators would still run buses on the city region’s roads, but local leaders will have control over fares, timetables and routes.

The Transport Act of 1985 led to all buses outside London being deregulated, allowing private companies to decide which fares they run and how much they charge passengers.

Mr Rotheram said: ‘Too many people in too many communities feel cut off from each other and from accessing opportunities to get on because of a system that simply does not work for them. In too many places, our transport network is too confusing, too unreliable, and too expensive.’

A recommendation to confirm franchising as the preferred future model for running the city region’s bus network and services will go before the combined authority on Friday March 4, where it is expected to be rubber stamped.

If approved, more work will then take place to complete the business case for the franchise model, followed by a public consultation.

Mr Rotheram added: ‘Hundreds of thousands of people in our city region rely on their services every day, with 82% of all public transport journeys in our region taken by the bus.

‘Since the Thatcher government deregulated buses outside of London in the 1980s, services outside of the capital have suffered.

‘After years of painstaking work, the Combined Authority’s assessment into the future of our bus market is recommending franchising as its preferred option to be considered further.

‘The rest of the country is watching the work we are doing here very closely. We are one of the only areas leading the way in using new powers under the Bus Services Act to take greater control over public transport and ensure it is run in the interests of local people.’

It is hoped that franchising the city region’s bus network will be a major step forward to creating an integrated, London-style wider public transport network, where the Liverpool City Region’s bus, train and ferry timetables are linked up, with simple transferrable fares and ticketing systems.

But the decision could still be challenged by private bus operators as was the case in Greater Manchester.

In related news, nearly £45m is set to be invested in green housing in the Liverpool City Region to tackle fuel poverty and reduce emissions.

Photo by Atanas Paskalev