Buses 'stuck on the road to failure'

alan salter

October 26, 2006

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A DAMNING parliamentary report today spells out two decades of failure in Britain's bus services, the M.E.N. can reveal.

The report - published on the 20th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher's bill to deregulate buses - concludes that the 1986 reform has done nothing to help the travelling public.

Full details of the report of the Commons transport committee will be revealed this afternoon but the M.E.N. has learned it will propose a series of measures to improve the service provided by private bus companies.

The report comes after Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander's promise at the Labour Party conference in Manchester "to give the local transport authorities that need them real powers to make a real difference".

And it was drawn up in the aftermath of the Manchester bus wars which brought the city centre to a halt.

The cross-party transport committee, with Blackley MP Graham Stringer and Withington MP John Leech among its members, quizzed bus operators and council chiefs about the best way to reverse the decline in bus passengers.

Compete

More than 50 bus companies operate in Greater Manchester and, under the present system, any of them can compete on routes as long as they give the Traffic Commissioner 56 days notice. In London, Mayor Ken Livingstone has the power to franchise services and specify how they run.

The Transport Act 2000 was to introduce "quality contracts" between operators and transport authorities to offer bus priorities and road improvements in return for minimum standards of service. But the idea stalled amid fears the authorities could be sued under fair competition laws.

Today's report says the authorities must be given a way of guaranteeing service improvements in return for spending money on the roads. And it says the government should indemnify PTAs against legal action by bus companies excluded from the routes.

It also calls for more powers for Traffic Commissioners to allow them to enforce quality contracts and make sure both sides meet their obligations. The report has strong words for the new concessionary fares system which, it says, "is a mess".

The government introduced free fares for pensioners, it says, "without providing sufficient funds".

Mr Stringer has tabled an early day motion noting the deregulation anniversary "with regret" and that patronage has fallen by a third over the last two decades.

Deregulation, the motion says, has hit the poorest members of society and welcomes the government's review of bus policies. It calls on the government to work with PTAs to "regulate bus services in a way which contributes to the wider economy, social inclusion, and environmental obligations".

GMPTA chairman Coun Roger Jones said: "We have poured millions of pounds into new facilities and bus priority measures, but this has simply not been matched by enough real service improvements for passengers."

Bobby Morton, Transport and General Workers Union regional industrial organiser, said the way forward was to return the bus services to local authority control - but he said there was no need for new laws.

"It is simply unacceptable that empty buses are causing congestion and nobody is taking a grip of this situation," he said.

"We believe the legislation is already in place for bus services to be regulated through Quality Contracts and it is time the local authorities grasped this and acted."

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Anthony, Accrington,lancashire (26/10/2006 at 13:42)

Bus deregulation led to thousands of operators vying for service with variable fares and competition BUT the Govt of the time took that with the other hand and some firms went bust,many large players took over other fledgling firms and this was all getting to a stage where everybody charged the same fares and increased at the same time to cover fuel and other costs. It has been a total disaster and it's in a total mess!

Pamela, Crumpsall (26/10/2006 at 16:16)

One of the problems was that north-south bus services disappeared because the two largest bus companies would ot travel into each others areas. But the other day, I took a bus from my home to Salford for a meeting. I discovered that after almost 40 years, the bus I took now terminates at Salford Precinct instead of Old Trafford which makes it extremely difficult for people who work at the Quays or who wish to travel there for the Lowry of cinemas.

Yes, a tram goes there but when I worked there, it took twice as long and cost twice as much that way.

Buses need re-regulating as quickly as they were de-regulated and this includes fares. I took a trip last year which was six stops and cost me ¿¿1.50. Since then I have only used the bus when it has been unavoidable.

And we also need a cheap daily pass for all public transport as they have in London. They have hundreds of tube and railway stations and regular buses and pay a lot less than we do, plus they have the oyster card which gives a third off the price of a ticket to non-Londoners, but we subsidise it too and are discriminated against. The current cost of an all-public-transport rover in Manchester is far too expensive.

David, Manchester (26/10/2006 at 16:42)

The return of Bus Regulation to local authorities will improve services and help cut emissions by better targeting rather than clogged up streets. Local authorities can then insist that diesel particle filters are fitted to all busses, presently none are fitted. The traffic commissioners should also be abolished, power should be with GMPTE not an unelected, out of touch, bureaucrat.

John, Cheshire (26/10/2006 at 18:39)

Oh yes lets return to where we were. Lets run fewer buses but bigger buses because its cheaper. Lets run old buses and employ lots of maintenance staff. Lets cross-subsidise and not have a clue how much the subsidy is costing us.

Get real.

leonard entwistle, heywood (26/10/2006 at 18:59)

i travel on 163 sevice to heywood the service only runs every hour from 1920 before dereg used to be every 30 mins not trapt in town for an hour iff missed a bus

Alan, Stockport (26/10/2006 at 19:03)

Does anybody remember the HUGE DEBT that the council roped onto the emplyees when the sales went through.....

Jake Long, Manchester, City Centre (26/10/2006 at 20:39)

Trying to save the bus service is like flogging a dead horse. Money would be much better spent widening roads to prepare for additional use rather then subsidising this outdated mode of transport.

Matthew Forth, Harrogate (26/10/2006 at 20:49)

But those lobbying for regulation and Quality Contracts, fail to mention that bus usage has in fact fallen over the past 50 years! So it's not a matter whether they are reuglated or not, it's how buses are given priority. I belive it's time for motorists in large cities to be given a hard time. If I ever move (back) to a large city I woudn't bother driving as it is not doing anything good for the enviroment by leaving your engine running whilst being stuck in a long queue. Plus congestion doesn't get you anywhere fast.
If anything will reverse bus decline it's Quality Partnerships and bus priorities. This is what I believe would work as a bus user and bus enthuisast.

Dan, Manchester (27/10/2006 at 09:45)

That is exactly what we would have expected from competition. Those who cannot survive will go bust. And since the product is essentially the same from all operators, they will have to charge the same fee. On the consumers' side, what we really need is a cheap daily/weekly/monthly pass which can be used on all buses and trams in the city, just like in many European cities.

Ray Wilkes, Shipley (27/10/2006 at 12:57)

see this link
www.stagecoachgroup.com/scg/media/press/pr2006/2006-10-26/

Dave, Manchester (27/10/2006 at 13:43)

Great idea Jake. I'm sure you won't complain when the council come to CPO your house for a road scheme.

Jake Long, Manchester, City Centre (27/10/2006 at 23:48)

Not at all Dave, I own the land that my house is sitting on so I would look forward to negotiations and the appropriate recompense.

Alan, Stockport (28/10/2006 at 10:19)

I would like the Manchester public to know that the drivers of both GM North and GM south did NOT want to sell to First & Stagecoach.

Matthew Forth, Harrogate (28/10/2006 at 20:23)

I fail to see how many get de-regulation and privatisation confused!! As I mentioned I am a bus enthusiast, I know that GM Buses (as it was known from 1986) was split and privatised during 1994. Back then the companies was owned by the mangement/employees. I know that during 1996 the companies were sold (GMN to First and GMS to Stagecoach). But if a company was to be back in public ownership this is a step further than re-regulation, re-nationalisation. I hate to burst the bubble of many who have this in mind, but putting bus operators back in state ownership is something the government doesn't want to do, or thats according to what I've heard/seen, but you just don't know with polititians!!
Mind you, on the subject of selling up, there will be only 14 council owned bus operators left. In recent times, for some reason, a few have been selling up. Councils say they aren't making enough money! It is a shame to see them sell up like this.
I just hope it won't end up as one company across the country. The sobre days of NBC poppy red!? God forbid! That colour was an accident, as it looked good under flourescent light apparently! But thats another story!!
I have to admit, about the dowturn in bus travel, I'm wondering if there has been any mention if the free travel for the elderly and disabled has worked. Word has it in South Yorkshire (another conurbation, with a PTE, SYPTE), usage went up around 20-25%. So it's not just the Shires! Maybe the government should give everyone free passes!!

David Boon, Blackpool (30/10/2006 at 14:24)

It is patently obvious bus deregulation has been a disaster for public transport. What has made matters worse is that the GMPTE sold off GM buses so it could extend metrolink to Eccles.
Fisrt & Stagecoach are private monopolies. GM buses needs putting back. First , Stagecoach & all the other two bit profiteers need getting shot of. Transforming travel the slogan says, certainly been transformed from a efficient well run public service with modern vehicles to a over priced third rate rest home for other areas past it cast offs.
As for Stagecoach due to the regulation in London theyve sold the operation to a Japenese investment bank! How many times has Mr Scouters prdeatory outfit been up before the competition people?

Memo to private bus operators :
IN THE NAME OF GOD GO!!!!

Matthew Forth, Harrogate (30/10/2006 at 20:29)

Actually Stagecoach sold it's London buisness off to an Austrailain bank. Word has it one of the reasons was the way TfL is (in my opinion TfL has over regulated the buses, as the buses have to be 100% red which looks cheap and nasty and they have to have a specification on buses), that operators are not allowed to promote themselves.
As I said before the government has no intentions of re-nationalising buses. But all I can say, is that I hope more municipals don't sell off.

Jake Long, Manchester, City Centre (30/10/2006 at 23:41)

I look forward to the day when you all use dirty public transport and free up the roads for ME.

Sarah, Manchester (01/11/2006 at 17:16)

As a student, I am reliant on the 42/142 service to get me to university, which is the bane of my mornings. Bus lanes would be great if they weren't congested with at least five different companies trying to dominate the same route, meaning what should be a 20 minute trip takes twice as long. Surely they're doing nothing for the environment either - some of those double deckers are ancient & must emit all kinds of fumes. To make it worse, i often fear for my life, with drivers talking on mobile phones, texting, reading the paper, playing with their ticket machine, all whilst driving at what feels like way over the speed limit, before slamming on the breaks when someone wants to get off. The accident on Oxford Road (01/11/06) with the cherry picker crane just shows how serious the consequences of dangerous driving can be. It's about time someone took control of the situation and sorted it out. Restrict the service operators to stop congestion, clamp down on their standards so we can travel in comfort & provide a service which a dynamic city like Manchester deserves.

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