Bus franchising in the West Midlands will proceed after Mayor Richard Parker formally decided that it will be the avenue of reform for service delivery across the conurbation.
That makes the West Midlands the sixth area in England to select bus franchising. It follows Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
The first franchised services in the West Midlands are expected to start rollout from late-2027. That tranche is likely to include the Sprint bus rapid transit service between Solihull and Walsall via Birmingham city centre. Completion of the process is planned for 2029.
Mr Parker was widely expected to select franchising. Since his election in 2024, he has made clear that reregulation of bus services was a priority. “I promised to take back control of our buses – and today’s decision show that we are delivering on that promise,” he says.
“The work is now underway, and over the next two years we will create a bus network that puts passengers first – reliable, affordable, and run in the interests of the people that use [it].”
Closed-door home-to-school services will be outside franchising. Demand responsive and ring-and-ride provision will be exempted until 1 December 2032. A host of cross-border public services are also outwith the remit of franchising and will be governed by service permits, as laid down in a document outlining how the scheme will be arranged.
Mr Parker made the decision to franchise at a West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Board meeting on 9 May. At that gathering, a number of elected representatives highlighted the importance of ensuring that the work is rolled out effectively, with one noting that it will require more scrutiny than “any other” project previously delivered by the Authority.
Also raised was the need for suitably skilled staff within WMCA. One councillor claims how with other areas already progressing franchising, finding those people may be difficult.
In response, Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) Executive Director Anne Shaw says that while the body has staff who are familiar with tendered services and engagement with operators, steps had already been taken to secure additional expertise in anticipation of the decision to go with franchising.
One-off costs of setting up the franchised operation and designing a new bus network are cited as ÂŁ22.5 million over three years by WMCA.
It has already given details of the likely fleet and depot strategy. In the former case, leases on existing zero-emission buses in the National Express West Midlands fleet are expected to be novated to WMCA. Diesel buses would be purchased by WMCA as an intermediate fleet before a long-term move to zero-emission across the board.
National Express, through its parent Mobico Group, put forward support for the franchising scheme in its response to a consultation, “providing it is affordable and [that] incumbent operators are compensated for transferred assets.”
Mobico also noted in its response that key challenges including congestion will continue to need political will to solve under the new regime.
However, the business questioned elements of the franchising assessment in its submission, claiming that some assumptions “inflate revenue and understate costs,” according to WMCA’s responses to consultation submissions.
Rotala, which is the second-largest operator in the West Midlands, supported change by way of franchising but has urged a route-by-route approach to its delivery. Stagecoach Midlands it said to “somewhat” support franchising in the West Midlands.
Shortly after the decision, National Express West Midlands Bus Strategy and Commercial Director Antony Goozee acknowledged “ambitions of the Mayor and WMCA to significantly invest in the bus network and develop a new operating model that maximises value for public investment, enhances mobility, and supports economic growth across the region.”
Mr Goozee adds that the operator has a longstanding and successful partnership with TfWM.
“Drawing on decades of experience, we remain fully committed to working collaboratively to deliver high-quality bus services, supporting a smooth and effective transition to the new franchising model as well as continuing to improve our service excellence well into future.”
