The long-awaited first steps towards bus franchising in the Bristol region are finally set
to be taken.
Metro mayor Dan Norris and the leaders of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset councils, who sit on the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) committee, are being asked to commit £500,000 to develop plans for a “radical rethink” that could see them taking back control of routes
and fares.
At present, private companies such as First and Stagecoach run the area’s buses, with local authorities paying for some services that are vital but lose money.
Franchising would bring them all under one travel system overseen by a single organisation, which in the capital city is Transport for London.
Metro mayors in places like Manchester and Sheffield have moved to franchising and now commission private bus companies to run routes, but the local transport authority decides when and where these go as well as ticket prices.
Labour’s Mr Norris has previously warned that this kind of system is not a ‘silver bullet’ because, unlike many other city regions, the West of England does not have a mass transit system, such as a major network of trams, which provides a huge income for a publicly owned transport authority and is used to pay for buses.
The other big stumbling block is that there is also a lack of a passenger transport executive (PTE) here, which would be responsible for operational decisions and brings together powers in one body at “arms’ length” from the combined authority, which deals with strategic transport planning.
Now, though, proposals going to West of England Combined Authority committee would explore options including franchising as well as the case for establishing a PTE.
A paper titled Bus Improvement Options said: “The current system is not meeting
the needs of our region and the people who live here.
“There are many issues that contribute towards this – including declining patronage in some areas, variable customer satisfaction levels and a financial system that is increasingly dependent on public funding support to maintain current service levels.
“To address these issues, a radical rethink is needed on how bus services are funded and operated.
“Political leaders, transport user groups and residents across the region have all asked for franchising to be considered.
“However, there are many options for reforming bus services.
“To ensure the committee has a range of options to consider, this paper also sets out broader work that should be undertaken to fully understand bus reform options in the West of England.”
It said £500,000 of West of England Combined Authority money would pay for a feasibility study by external consultants into the possible choices, which would report back in 2025/26.
The report said: “The feasibility assessment will consider a wide range of options for future bus reform in the region, including bus franchising, the Enhanced Partnership Model, an Enhance Partnership Plus model, and municipal ownership.”
The Government has unveiled its “bus revolution” measures, including a huge step towards franchising.
Legislation was laid before Parliament that would give all local transport authorities new powers to run their own buses.
The Department for Transport also launched a consultation on new, simplified guidance to speed up processes and reduce costs for local leaders looking to bring services into public control.
A Buses Bill will be brought forward later in this parliamentary session to introduce changes to further support franchising, as well as other measures on areas such as funding and accessible travel.
By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporter