The Yorkshire authorities say franchising is the only way to get access to fare box revenues. Does that sound a bit like a bank raid?
Here we go again. This time it’s the Yorkshire local authorities who are on the bus franchising bandwagon.
The Yorkshire devolution proposals have now been submitted to the Department for Communities and Local Government, and I hear that it boldly claims that bus franchising powers are necessary to “secure access to fare box revenues, and for integrating simple smart ticketing across all local modes of transport.”
But this looks like quite a complex devolution proposal because any decision to pursue franchising in a particular part of Yorkshire may be delegated to sub-area committees, which doesn’t actually fill me with confidence that we would see a consistent approach to bus franchising across Yorkshire.
Moreover, two of the 20 Yorkshire authorities, Sheffield and Rotherham, have not supported the devolution proposal, which seems to me to undermine its overall integrity.
Big revenue risk
The Yorkshire authorities may say that franchising is the only way to get access to fare box revenues. True enough, but that sounds to me a bit like a bank raid.
Do they want access to this cash to subsidise other local authority services, or will they do the right thing and use the cash to improve the quality of bus services?
And just in case the authorities have forgotten, let me remind them that having access to the revenues also comes with a huge financial risk, as they have to take the risk that revenues are not what they expect. Revenue risk is a big risk – as rail franchise operators are now discovering.
Regulated, not cheap
And the Labour mayoral candidate for the Sheffield City Region, Dan Jarvis, is at it too. He’s gone on record saying that he will use the new bus powers “to bring the bus system back into public ownership to make our bus services more affordable, more reliable, and more accessible to disabled people, older people and families with pushchairs.”
And just for good measure he’s pledged to introduce concessionary schemes for students, apprentices and adults helping children get to school. On top of that he wants to explore the feasibility of introducing half-price travel for 16-18-year-olds.
If I was a council tax payer in the Sheffield City Region I’d be looking at all of this and wondering what it’s going to cost me. No doubt it sounds great on the hustings and, as we all know, when it comes to elections politicians are experts at spending other people’s money.
Of course, Dan Jarvis’s pledges are something of a sleight of hand. He may make bus travel cheaper for the passenger, but he won’t make it cheaper for the council tax payer. Running a bus doesn’t get cheaper just because it’s regulated.
And here’s a thought. I thought officers in the Sheffield Combined Authority had decided to drop plans for franchising some time ago and go down the partnership route. If Dan Jarvis is true to his word, his relationship with officers could be quite tricky!
