Our bus plan is the best

I WRITE in response to the recent article on the bus franchising consultation response (‘2,500 get on board for bus debate,’ November 28).

As the chief executive of OneBus, an organisation which represents bus operators in Greater Manchester, it is my priority to update the people of our region on the flaws within the franchising documentation.

Despite promises of cheaper fares and improved connectivity, the frightening future of buses under franchising has been revealed during this consultation, which at over 1,000 pages is close to indecipherable for most people.

Within your article, Sir Richard Leese discusses bus passenger decline. However, it is important for Greater Manchester residents to know that the Greater Manchester Combined Authority itself has predicted that one in four passengers would desert buses, with 42 million fewer customers by 2040 under a franchised system.

Partnerships, however, have provided improvements for passengers across the country, including the Merseyside Bus Partnership, which has seen a 15 per cent increase in fare-paying passengers since 201314, while the number of bus journeys by young people has risen by 168pc.

Similarly, partnership in Bristol has seen passenger numbers grow by 52pc since 2013.

What’s more, GMCA’s own analysis shows that a partnership model has a significantly better benefit-to-cost ratio than franchising. Despite the huge costs of implementing the franchise scheme, the combined authority have made no commitments to address congestion – the single biggest barrier to bus use in our region.

Our new partnership alternative offers millions more invested in greener buses, improved ticketing and live journey information.

We do not believe that Greater Manchester taxpayers should be forced to pay for a system that we have offered to deliver quicker and at no additional cost to taxpayers.

Gary Nolan, Chief executive OneBus