Leading Tory councillors voice concern over mayor’s bus reform plans

Concerns have been raised about North East Mayor Kim McGuinness’s plans for major bus reform across the region, writes Local Democracy Reporter, James Robinson. The North East Strategic Mayoral Authority is currently consulting on a proposed bus franchising scheme that would bring services back under public control.

While bus companies would still run services, the mayoral authority would set routes, timetables and fares and have set service standards. Residents and councils across the North East have been asked to have their say on the proposals.

Bus services in the North East are currently deregulated. This means private bus companies decide routes, timetables, fares and service standards.

The matter was discussed at Tuesday’s meeting of Northumberland County Council’s cabinet. Speaking at the meeting, deputy leader Coun Richard Wearmouth said he was not keen on the franchising model.

He said: “We don’t support bus franchising. I think this is something from the political agenda the mayor has – it’s part of her manifesto and she is well within her rights to do that.

“However, bus franchising does create risk for the taxpayer and could be considered to be a needless distraction. People want to be able to hop on and off a bus with a tap of a phone or a card as you can in London – they want to know it will arrive on time and they want somewhere safe and dry to wait for a bus.

“None of that requires franchising. All that I can say franchising has achieved so far is we have wasted a lot of time implementing things people would have wanted.

“The positives are we can respond to this consultation politely and nicely. We will emphasis the things that Northumberland does well.

“In other parts of the country and the region bus patronage has gone down but in Northumberland we have seen passenger numbers increase by no less than 600,000 journeys over the course of four years. We have managed to not only protect rural services, but enhance them.

“We will be saying we want to keep that link with our operators in Northumberland and not have that taken up the tree to the combined authority. As a minimum red line, we don’t want to see an erosion of rural services as we go into this wider arrangement.”

The mayoral authority say the new model could bring “simpler” tickets along with more consistent routes and timetables and “better connections”. It is also pointed out that currently, public funding currently supports a significant part of the network, but there is limited public control over how services are planned and delivered.  

Responding to the comments, North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: “When I was elected Mayor, I made it my first priority to bring buses under public control so they work better for the people who rely on them. I know too many people in Northumberland and other areas feel buses aren’t reliable, affordable or easy to use.

“I want to change that and give people the world class public transport we deserve.  Since we brought in the Mayor’s Fares, and paid subsidies to bus companies so people can travel anywhere for £2.50, or just £1 for under 22s, it is true that passenger numbers have started to rise.

“I am proud we have made fares more affordable for local people but I believe we can go further so people trust their bus again. Bringing buses under public control was the best way I could see not just to protect vital routes in rural areas but to find ways to grow them.

“That is why we began the franchising scheme assessment and public consultation process, so I can consider the evidence before deciding how bus services should be planned and delivered across the North East in future.”

The consultation on bus services is ongoing and can be completed via the North East Strategic Mayoral Authority’s website.

A spokesperson for the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority said: “Our assessment sets out a clear case for change and an ambitious franchising offer for residents across the region including across our rural and coastal communities.

“This analysis has been robustly and independently audited and has identified benefits such as simpler tickets and better value for money; more consistent routes and timetables with better connections; and greater opportunities for local people to have their say.

“Our consultation is an opportunity to hear directly from people right across the North East, whether or not they currently use the bus. We have already received more than 12,000 responses from local people making this the largest consultation in the country on the future of bus services.

“We look forward to a formal response from Northumberland County Council and we will consider this alongside all the responses we get before making any recommendation.”