Smaller operators in West Yorkshire have expressed concern after confirmation that franchising of bus services will go ahead in the mayoral region.
Larger operators have publicly stated they welcome Mayor Tracy Brabin’s announcement on 14 March that reregulation would be the avenue for service reform. However, the future of their smaller, independent competitors is jeopardised, according to the area’s Connexions Buses and E Stott & Sons.
In the lead-up, an association of operators had been against franchising proposals and instead suggested an “Enhanced Partnership Plus” (EP+) model which would include, among other measures, a simplified and integrated fare structure and unified branding.
However, as expected, West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) is set to follow Greater Manchester and Liverpool down the path to regulation.
Craig Temple, Managing Director of West-Yorkshire-based Connexions Buses, describes the decision as a “foregone conclusion”.
He adds: “It’s very disappointing that it has happened, as the EP+ scheme put forward by the Association of Bus Operators is very comprehensive and contains a large number of promises which, although relatively difficult to achieve, would have given the same results as franchising without much of the associated costs or bureaucracy.
“It would have delivered at a fraction of the cost to WYCA and without the financial risk to them (the risk to them is actually a risk to the West Yorkshire taxpayer) and in a much quicker timescale.”
Mr Temple predicts franchising could “severely” affect the business, given that 28 of its 34 PVR operate fully or partially in West Yorkshire.
“Many of the schools and services we operate within the county are tendered so I guess, franchised service, or tendered, there isn’t a lot of difference,” he says. “The worry, however, is that the tendering process itself will be too complicated for smaller operators to complete.
“This is the main reason quoted to explain why smaller operators haven’t been awarded any bus services in any of the tranches in Manchester.”
He says the sums he has heard were paid by larger operators to consultants in the Greater Manchester bidding process would be out of reach of Connexions.
Carl Stott, Director of E Stott & Sons, which operates 24 services on behalf of WYCA, says: “We only operate tendered services on behalf of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and have no commercial routes.
“I fear that the small independent operators will lose out – as they have in Greater Manchester and services will end up with the large groups who have the budget to employ third party experts to complete the application for franchising for them.
“I feel for the small, independent bus operators who have built their businesses around commercial services which will come under the control of the Combined Authority and who have very little or no chance of them being awarded these routes through the franchising process.
“If most of the tenders are awarded to the larger groups, it could be three, five or seven years before the small independents could tender again, by which time a lot of these may have disappeared.
“We are fortunate that our business does not rely on local bus services – we operate school contracts, National Express contracts and private hire with our fleet of buses and coaches – so if we lose out due to franchising we have other options.”
CPT comment
CPT’s reaction echoed the concern for smaller operators. Chief Executive Graham Vidler says: “Operators across the region look forward to delivering the Mayor’s vision and giving passengers a better bus service.
“Small operators will also be looking for reassurance that the Mayor’s franchising programme doesn’t drive them out of business.
“Franchising of itself won’t change anything but it will provide a platform for the Mayor to invest in the things that matter most to passengers – speeding up journey times and improving reliability through bus priority.
“West Yorkshire’s Mayor has lots of funding from central government available to her, so it will be important that she gives the region’s most popular form of public transport its fair share.”
Arriva and First lend support
The tone from larger operators is, openly, more supportive of the franchising move.
A spokesperson for Arriva Yorkshire says: “We welcome confirmation of Mayor Tracy Brabin’s intention to move towards a franchising model for local bus services in West Yorkshire.
“We know from our experience in London and across mainland Europe that franchised networks can deliver the successful and high performing services that local communities deserve.
“We look forward to working closely with the Mayor and her team to help achieve their ambitions for improved bus services for passengers in West Yorkshire.”
Andrew Cullen, Managing Director of First Bus in West Yorkshire, adds: “Our highly experienced teams of drivers and colleagues in engineering, operations and network support are focused on doing what’s best for our customers in West Yorkshire day in, day out and helping them to love and use the bus.
“Going forward, we want to continue working with WYCA to deliver more improvements to bus operations for our communities, building on our investment in West Yorkshire’s largest zero emission bus fleet.
“We are reviewing the detail underlying today’s decision and, in the meantime, look forward to understanding WYCA’s next steps, following the Mayor’s recommendation to proceed with the proposed franchising scheme.”
Independent think tank Centre for Cities came out in support of franchising. Chief Executive Andrew Carter says: “The Mayor of West Yorkshire’s decision to franchise buses will transform passenger experience in the region, with better routes, better pricing and simpler ticketing systems.
“By better connecting people to jobs and educational opportunities, bus franchising in West Yorkshire will have a direct impact on productivity and prosperity in the region.
“The value of bus franchising is already being proven in Greater Manchester, where bus passenger numbers are up at least 8% since it was introduced last September.”
