Mayor of Greater Manchester makes landmark decision for city-region to be first outside London to have local control over buses

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has made a landmark decision to take control of buses in the biggest shake-up to Greater Manchester’s transport network in over 30 years, as part of plans for a joined-up and passenger-focused transport network.

Greater Manchester will be the first city-region outside London to have buses that are under local control, allowing local authorities to set routes, frequencies, fares and tickets instead of private companies, who could continue to run buses on the network.
 

Read more: All council leaders in GM but one back bus franchising plan ahead of Burnham decisionPublished: 25 March 2021

Franchising, or local control, is exected to deliver passenger benefits, including simpler fares and ticketing, with the ability to offer price capping for journeys across both buses and trams, including a daily cap.

It is also expected to enable better joined-up planning between bus and tram journeys so passengers will be able to quickly and easily change between them, as well as providing a ‘one-stop shop’ for travel information and customer support, plus consistent standards.

 

 

Part of the GMCA's plan is to develop one identity for Greater Manchester’s transport network, which is clearly recognisable and easy for passengers to understand. Bus franchising also means GMCA can set environmental standards for a cleaner, greener bus fleet, helping to meet the city-region’s targets to tackle the climate emergency and reduce emissions.

The decision-making process behind franchising in Greater Manchester has been accused of being ‘unlawful’ in separate, ongoing, legal challenges by operators Stagecoach and Rotala.

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.

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.
 

Read more: Stagecoach launches legal challenge against regional bus reformsPublished: 16 March 2021

 

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 that the scheme was affordable, with a large chunk of it – £78m – paid for through the devolution agreement with the government.

He said franchising would put the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) at more financial risk, but insisted that it was still the best value for taxpayers’ money.

However uncertainty remains around long-term funding which depends on future decisions taken by the government, which could see the cost of franchising on the public purse rise.

Mr Burnham said: “Hopefully it won’t mean anything to taxpayers because the government will work with us.

“We’ll have to see how that develops because we don’t know what decisions the government will make.

“We can’t rule out that we might have to put more money into the system, but we hope that we won’t have to.”

Mr Burnham was expected to make a decision on franchising last March before it was postponed by the first lockdown. This delay prompted a second consultation that showed the plans still carried a ‘high level of public support’ – though the number of positive responses fell from 83 per cent to 71 per cent.

But 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 27 May and 28 May.

Mr Burnham admitted that legal proceedings could lead to delays and extra legal costs, but he urged companies to set aside their differences and support the new model.

He said: “Just look at the consultation results, four out of five people in Greater Manchester want public services under control.

“The public, their own passengers, are saying we want something different.

“These are powers given to us by parliament, on what basis can we have companies trying to block the democratic will of the people?”

In a statement released after Mr Burnham’s announcement, Stagecoach said: “We are disappointed and surprised that the mayor has chosen to push ahead with these proposals and not wait a short time for the outcome of the judicial review process before making any final decisions.”

“The planned franchising scheme in Greater Manchester would incur £135m of transition costs that would not deliver any new buses or new services and, under GMCA plans, would see above-inflation fares increases for customers. 

“We believe a better approach in line with the government’s bus strategy would be to work together and focus precious taxpayer funding on practical improvements for customers and local communities.”

What will happen next?

To ensure a smooth transition, franchising will be introduced in three phases, with the first franchised buses starting to run in Bolton and Wigan in early 2023 and the move to a fully franchised system across the whole of Greater Manchester by the end of 2025.

With one sub-area introduced each year between 2023 and 2025, Rochdale would fall under sub-area B with Bury and Oldham, plus the north of Manchester City Council area. The first services could start operating in 2024.

In the period up to full transition, GMCA and TfGM will work with central government and bus operators to plan and improve bus services to best support Greater Manchester’s economic recovery.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “Public transport is essential for any successful city-region, and our buses are the backbone of Greater Manchester’s transport network. As Greater Manchester recovers from the pandemic and grows in the future, we must develop our public transport network, alongside walking and cycling, to support the increasing number of journeys we will all be making.

“In Greater Manchester, we’ve always done things differently and been trailblazers especially in the field of transport; we had the first passenger railway; the first ‘bus’ route with a horse-drawn carriage and now I’ve decided that we will be the first outside London to run our buses differently – under local control, so that decisions are made at a local level for the benefit of our passengers.

“My decision will mean that we can integrate our buses as part of a joined-up network, so passengers can easily switch between different types of transport. It means simpler fares and ticketing with price capping, so no one pays more than they need to. It also means a ‘one-stop-shop’ for travel information and a single identity for the whole public transport network, which is attractive, clearly recognisable and easy for passengers to navigate and understand.

“Ultimately, this means a different way of moving around for everyone in our city-region, as we move towards Our Network; our ambition of a world-class, integrated transport network which can unlock opportunity for all; providing access to jobs and education, reducing pollution, attracting investment and reducing isolation.

“Bringing buses into local control will be the biggest change to Greater Manchester’s buses since de-regulation in 1986. But as with all change for the better, it will take time; it won’t happen overnight and we are just at the start of our journey. I hope the people, businesses and communities of Greater Manchester come with us on the journey, so we can create a joined-up public transport network that works for the benefit of passengers and our city-region.”

Following the announcement, a spokesperson from Go North West, which operates the 17 and 18 services in the Rochdale borough said: “Go-Ahead Group operates buses in a wide variety of regulatory environments across the UK. We are liaising with Transport for Greater Manchester on creating a system that works best for passengers. 

"Arrangements for a smooth transition will be needed, and we have suggested that as an interim step, TfGM and all operators come together to create a partnership to rebuild passenger numbers after the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Niall Griffiths, Local Democracy Reporter

Additional reporting: Rochdale Online News