Bus fares and routes brought back under local control, says Rotheram
A RADICAL overhaul of bus services in Halton which would allow local leaders to control prices, routes and timetables has been given the green light.
Bus services across the whole Liverpool City Region (LCR) will now move to a franchise system and be ‘re-regulated’, giving the LCR – which consists of six council areas including Halton the ability to influence fares, routes and timetables.
The move is a major departure from the way bus services have been run since 1986, after Margaret Thatcher introduced the Transport Act.
Under the current system, any company outside London can run a service and specify their own routes and fares. But under the franchise model, companies will have to bid to run a service, with local leaders able to lay down conditions such as routes, timetables and prices.
Halton had been one of the few local authorities in the country to retain a municipal bus service Halton Transport - but that went into liquidation in 2020.
Now the LCR’s ruling Combined Authority (CA) has voted in favour of the new model.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said: “Too many people in too many communities feel cut off from each other and from accessing opportunities to get on because of a system that simply does not work for them.
“In too many places, our transport network is too confusing, too unreliable, and too expensive.
“This is a once-in-ageneration opportunity to reverse the decision by the Thatcher government to fragment our public transport system.”
According to the LCR’s figures, 82 per cent of all public transport journeys in the region are taken by bus.
He added: “The rest of the country is watching the work we are doing here very closely. We are one of the only areas leading the way in using new powers under the Bus Services Act to take greater control over public transport and ensure it is run in the interests of local people.”