Councils will be allowed to run local buses as Labour scraps Thatcher's ban
Councils will be allowed to run local buses as Labour scraps Thatcher's ban
It’s understood Labour’s rule changes, to be tabled in the Commons on Tuesday, will lift the ban on local councils setting up community bus companies, allowing more local leaders to take more services into public control
Buses were privatised under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s
But since 2017, metro mayors have had the power to run their own bus networks.
Manchester mayor Andy Burnham launched the hugely successful Bee Network last year - which increased reliability, introduced 24/7 services and boosted passenger numbers.
He’s pledged to complete the process of taking Manchester’s buses under public control by next January (2025).
Similar plans are underway in the Liverpool City Region and West Yorkshire.
It’s understood Labour’s rule changes, to be tabled in the Commons on Tuesday, would lift the ban on local councils setting up community bus companies, allowing more local leaders to take more services into public control.
[…]Thousands of vital routes have been axed - that's what happens when control is handed to those who put profit above passengers
By Louise Haigh, Transport Secretary
[…]
I’ve heard countless stories from people let down, of communities cut off, about opportunities missed, all due to poor bus services. I know how much this matters.That’s why this Government was elected. To deliver on our mission to repair and rebuild Britain. To return our country to the service of working people. To fix what is broken.
And I am not wasting any time. My pledge to Mirror readers is simple: better buses are around the corner.
I promised to move fast and fix things, and next week I will be setting out the first stop on the journey to better buses, with steps to take back control of our buses.
For too long Private operators have been allowed to pick and choose whatever routes they want, regardless of what communities need. We want to see every area have the power to build their own public transport network in a way that works for them
[…]
Four decades of deregulation has seen thousands of vital routes axed, and a staggering 1.5 billion fewer bus journeys taken each year.This wasn’t inevitable. It is the result of political choices.
It is what happens when control of services is handed to those who put profit above passengers.
When whole communities are cut off and isolated, without a thought to the damage this does to local economies.
That's nuts we had a law like that for so many years. Assume it only applied to England (and Wales?) because in Edinburgh we've had buses run by the council for decades. It's the only part of the council's enterprises that actually turns a profit afaik.
1Also did not apply to London. Hence, TFL.
I remember when it changed. For about a decade we had huge increases in buses. In Oxfordshire, we had about 5 companies competing for routs between all the small villages.
By the end of the 90s. They all merged into one parent company. Still running buses under different company names. And the number of villages with 0 buses or one a week is absurd.
The basic result is the council has to pay more for bus routes that are unprofitable. But makes nothing from the profitable commuter routes.
2
I'm quite a glass-completely-empty person thanks to, you know, [points to everything],
but this is one small positive to come in recent years to my city, Manchester, and this expansion is good news too. I hope it continues to improve lives.
32Yeah it is a positive move. But will not really have much effect until funding matches. Setting up a local bus service takes investment. Something hard to achieve in the current political climate.
But having the law in place is defiantly a good first move. Just may take a while for funding to free up.
5
Thank you dead Thatcher for the spectacle of watching rival buses racing to get to the next busy stop. It was not at all weird and dysfunctional.
11What was the justification for banning them in the first place? Seems a bit hardcore...
3You're asking Thatcherism to make sense.
6Makes perfect sence. If you think like a tory.
Let me help. Ignore all emotion. Bend over backwarnds. And shove your head up your own arsehole.
See perfectly sensible now.
Opps forgot the most important step. Be wealthy.
3
She read Ayn Rand, Hayek simplified by tax cut lobbists and no conflicting positions.
Most of what she did was wrong and people knew at the time. But she fooled enough voters like Regan.
2She wanted her grave soaked in piss.
2Same as investing right to buy money into new council housing.
She was vocal about such investments being unfair compatition to the privrate market.
Edit.
Thatcher was very open as she ran in 79. Nationalised industory harmed the free market.
She considered council housing to be the worst culprit. As it prevented privrate owners from market pricing. Having a cheaper option held back the market.
Transport was the same thing.
Now with hind sight. It is clear she was correct. We now have prices so high only the higher earners have the ability to rent or buy. Much like fudal times.
We have the highest public transport costs and argubly the lowest quality of service in europe.
But by her ideals. The industries are doing great.
2