Mayor of the West of England Dan Norris is “actively considering bus reform” in the region, but he has cautioned that rollout of franchising there would be no “silver bullet” for service improvements.
A report on bus reform is expected to be published for the meeting of the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) Committee on 20 September. Mr Norris was responding to an open letter led by pressure group West of England Shared Transport and Active Travel Network calling for “a formal investigation” into franchising in the West of England.
Mr Norris is understood to have met Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham in 2023 to discuss bus franchising. After that he told local media that “franchising could be a great solution” but warned of the financial risk that it brings. Other reports state that leaders of the three councils in the West of England have called upon Mr Norris to explore franchising.
The Mayor has made little secret of his desire to see bus services improve. In his response to the open letter, Mr Norris says that he agrees with the group “that the bus system is currently not delivering for residents in the way that they both need and deserve.”
While Mr Norris has engaged with local leaders in his considerations of bus reform, he says that the West of England has a unique set of challenges in “shifting the model we use for delivering our public transport network.”
Key to that is the lack of a Passenger Transport Executive. “There has historically not been a comparable organisation in the West, and this makes taking action more complex and challenging,” the response continues.
“As a result of this complex picture, I make no apology for taking the utmost care when considering the strengths and weaknesses of any new model for how we run buses.”
The letter to Mr Norris from West of England Shared Transport and Active Travel Network includes many councillors as cosignatories. It advocates “precepting powers” for WECA, which the group believes could “provide stable funding for key bus services without affecting other essential local government budgets.”
In Cambridgeshire and Peterborough – where bus franchising is at a more advanced stage of consideration – a mayoral council tax precept is to fund 30 new and improved bus routes.
A West of England Bus Strategy adopted in June 2020 included mention of franchising, but noted that reregulation in itself will not lead to new or better services. “These issues are delivered through investment in the bus network,” it adds.
“Franchising could, however, lead to greater network stability, although this may require more subsidy and the need to raise additional funding. In other words, it is important to be clear what the problem is that we are trying to solve before deciding that franchising is the best way to solve it.”
