BUSES: THE FUTURE MAY BE ORANGE!
MAYOR BACKS TOWN HALL CONTROL OF SERVICES WITH ALL VEHICLES SAME COLOUR – POSSIBLY THE FAMOUS OLD ONE
GREATER Manchester will become the first place outside of London to bring buses back into public control since the 1980s after historic reforms were signed off by Andy Burnham.
The mayor hailed the introduction of bus franchising as a ‘game changer’ for a city-region which had looked on ‘with envy’ at the capital’s integrated public transport system.
It will mean that passengers will ride buses and trams on a ‘seamless’ system with capped fares and routes and managed by local authorities instead of private bus operators.
A move towards a uniform livery across the network is also expected in a nod to the pre-Thatcher days of Greater Manchester’s iconic orange buses, though a decision on the colour of the new fleet has not yet been made.
Stagecoach, one of the firms seeking a judicial review of the £134.5m plans, said it was ‘disappointed and surprised’ by Mr Burnham’s announcement yesterday. There was also a failed attempt by one company to seek an injunction against a decision on bus franchising being made before the legal challenges are heard in May.
Mr Burnham, announcing his decision inside Ashton-under-Lyne interchange, said that privatisation had led to ‘35 years of rising fares and routes being cut.’
He said: “This deregulated system has not been driven by the needs of our communities, but by the bus operator’s responsibilities to their shareholders to make a profit.”
Bus franchising had been backed by nine of the 10 local authorities in Greater Manchester, while the plans received more than 80 per cent backing from the public.
The new system will be introduced in a phased approach first in Bolton and Wigan in January 2023, before being rolled out across the remaining boroughs from January 2025.
Mr Burnham said the scheme was affordable, with a large chunk of it – £78m – paid for through the devolution agreement with the government.
The remaining outlay will come through existing and future mayoral precepts paid for by the taxpayers, which will raise £33.7m. Local authorities will also put forward £17.8m, with the remainder made up by £5m in pooled business rates income.
Uncertainty remains around longterm funding that depends on future decisions taken by the government, which could see the cost of franchising on the public purse rise.
The consultations on franchising were seen as ‘flawed’ and even ‘unlawful’ by bus operators amid claims that they failed to properly account for the impact of Covid.
Stagecoach and Rotala have submitted separate applications for a judicial review of the decision-making process which will be heard in court on May 27 and May 28.