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Reading: Only with fundamental change can bus franchising be a panacea
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routeone > Editor's Comment > Only with fundamental change can bus franchising be a panacea
Editor's Comment

Only with fundamental change can bus franchising be a panacea

Tim Deakin
Tim Deakin
Published: January 15, 2025
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Bus franchising in Greater Manchester
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The bus franchising juggernaut continues its march. Completion of that process in Greater Manchester has – on the face of it – been an early success, including for the UK bus building industry, although the volume of both money and skilled minds available meant such a result was always likely.

What happens next is largely clear: More Combined Authority areas in England will follow, the Welsh Government’s plans for countrywide reregulation will continue to gather pace, and Strathclyde Passenger Transport will pursue franchising as a favoured option. Where funding comes from in some of those cases is not as explicit, but maybe it will materialise. Maybe.

Existential worries of SME operators around the franchising agenda are clear, and they are unaddressed. There can be no sugar coating: SME involvement with bus operation in Greater Manchester has been decimated by the Bee Network, to the seeming disinterest of anyone in a position to prevent it. A repeat must be averted in all further schemes.

Concern is also present over the ability of county councils and unitary authorities to deliver bus franchising, should any choose to do so. The government is encouraging consideration by those bodies. But there is a big difference between having a look and signing on the line, and it seems likely that relatively few of those authorities will progress to delivery.

However, some undoubtedly will. Councils have seen central or devolved funding butchered in recent years, and public transport departments have often been hollowed out as a result.

Bus Service Improvement Plan capacity allocations will help, but work behind a franchising scheme, even considering simplification within the Bus Services Bill, will still be immense. Meanwhile, external expertise costs money. Consultations cost money. Mobilisation costs an awful lot of money. Better services cost money. Where will it all come from?

Now-daily tales of woe around the cost of government borrowing, growth projections and business confidence coupled to Kier Starmer’s promise that he will be “ruthless” on public spending hardly give rise to an expectation that the forthcoming review of the latter will leave cash raining down upon the bus industry.

One member of the sector familiar with the regulated environment worries that under the current trajectory, the UK will be left with “flawed” franchising schemes that do not deliver what a well-structured and collaborative approach can.

When that is coupled to worries around SMEs that are well-founded and yet easily fixed via the use of subcontracting, and concern about the baseline ability of many local authorities to deliver reregulation, alarm bells should be ringing.

Franchising may very well result in better bus services. It is no doubt the most appropriate delivery mechanism in some areas. But fundamental elements of it need attention before any widespread adoption if that revolution is to deliver long-term success.

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ByTim Deakin
Tim is Editor of routeone and has worked in both the coach and bus and haulage industries.
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andy burnham tfgm £15.6 billion (1) The funding announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves today (4 June) has been allocated to several combined mayoral authorities to use on rail, tram, road and bus infrastructure. Transport for Greater Manchester revealed today that part of the £2.5 billion it will receive will go towards making the Bee Network fully battery-electric by 2030. An as-yet undecided portion of that will support a planned investment in 1,000 new zero-emission buses over that period, the mayoral authority said. That is part of plans to build the UK's "first fully integrated, zero-emission public transport system", with trams and trains also set to benefit. Liverpool City Region's already announced BRT system is among the projects to which its £1.6 billion will be allocated. Under those plans - due for realisation by 2028 - a high-speed network will be served by articulated buses which are modelled on the 'Glider' in Belfast. It is due to link Liverpool city centre with John Lennon Airport, and Liverpool FC and Everton FC's respective stadia along three routes. Although the model of bus has not been confirmed, a Van Hool Exqui.City on loan from Belfast was last year used as a demonstrator. That 18m vehicle can accommodate around 30% more passengers than a typical bus and has three sets of double doors. The funding will also go towards buses elsewhere in the city as the region heads towards franchising services by 2027. Liverpool Mayor Steve Rotheram with a 'Glider' which was on loan from Belfast last year - an example of the sort of bus which could serve the new BRT Bus services in the East Midlands region will be boosted by the funding, thanks to the £2 billion handed to it today by the government. Some of that allocation will be used for a rapid transit network on the Trent Arc between Nottingham and Derby. Between the two cities, the Freeport, Infinity Park Investment Zone and Ratcliffe-on-Soar will also benefit from the improved bus services. South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority's newly announced commitment towards bus franchising has been boosted by £350 million in funding as part of that region's allocation. The funding for West Yorkshire will help build new bus stations in Bradford and Wakefield. Likewise, the Tees Valley Mayoral Authority will put its sum towards a new £15 million bus station in Middlesbrough. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander says: "Today marks a watershed moment on our journey to improving transport across the North and Midlands – opening up access to jobs, growing the economy and driving up quality of life as we deliver our Plan for Change. "For too long, people in the North and Midlands have been locked out of the investment they deserve. With £15.6bn of government investment, we’re giving local leaders the means to drive cities, towns and communities forward, investing in Britain’s renewal so you and your family are better off."
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