Legislation is being laid before parliament today to give all local transport authorities (LTAs) across England access to new powers to run their own bus services.
Under the current law (Bus Services Act 2017), LTAs hoping to secure bus franchising first need the Government to 'switch on' access to the powers, as only mayoral combined authorities had automatic access.
Then the transport secretary must give consent to any individual authority to prepare a franchising assessment.
The statutory instrument laid before parliament today enacts the initial stage of the franchising process for all types of LTAs, 'ensuring that in future they only need to obtain the transport secretary's consent to prepare a franchising scheme assessment'.
Later in the Parliamentary session, the Department for Transport (DfT) plans to bring forward a Bus Bill, which will; include 'a measure to remove SoS [secretary of state] consent provisions for non-MCA/MCCAs to access franchising powers (the second stage of the 2-stage process) as this change can only be achieved via primary legislation'.
Alongside the new statutory instrument, the Government has also launched a consultation on draft guidance to streamline the franchising process.
Section 4 of the draft guidance sets out how the secretary of state consent process will work. The secretary of state will take account of the following:
'that the LTA has a clear vision for improving buses – and what this is
- that the LTA has identified the kind of franchising it wants to pursue - see discussion of some potential options at Section 17
- that the LTA has a plan for how it intends to develop the franchising assessment and has identified, after discussion with DfT officials what support is required from DfT
- that a particular office holder (for example the Leader of the Council or the portfolio holder for transport) is responsible for the development of the scheme.'
The new guidance will also reform the process for preparing a franchising assessment by proposing a new approach to the 'do nothing' option that must be considered.
To avoid being bogged down in renegotiations with bus operators, LTAs 'will only need to consider the currently available enhanced partnership and the franchising option in the franchising assessment'.
LTAs may still choose to explore more options, but do not need to do so.
The guidance proposes a three-month period following publication of a notice of intention to prepare a franchising assessment, during which LTAs and bus operators should agree any amendments to their enhanced partnership, for inclusion in the do nothing scenario. An extension to this period requires the agreement of the LTA.
The DfT said: 'All LTAs in England have now either implemented an enhanced partnership or are preparing a franchising business case. This means that in the preparation of the business case, the do nothing option is no longer a deregulated market, but rather an enhanced partnership.'
The draft plans also add a new section to the guidance that would allow LTAs to consider driver welfare and passenger safety, including anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls, when considering the franchising case.
Transport secretary Louise Haigh said: 'Today is the first stop on our journey to delivering better buses across the country. After decades of failed deregulation, local leaders will finally have the powers to provide services that deliver for passengers.
'And we are taking steps to support local leaders to deliver improved bus services faster and cheaper than ever before. With local communities firmly back in the driving seat, our bus revolution will save vital routes up and down the country and put passengers first.'
Jason Prince, director of the Urban Transport Group, said: 'We welcome the pace at which government is moving on its ambitious transport agenda. Buses are the cornerstone of our public transport system, so it’s greatly encouraging to see this new package of measures, which will deliver better bus services for more local areas.'
London has had bus franchising powers for decades and avoided the decline in services and mileage seen elsewhere in England.
Greater Manchester was the first LTA to use the powers granted in the Bus Services Act to deliver a bus franchising scheme, with the first services launching in September 2023.
The city has reported a 5% growth in patronage in its first franchised area in the six months from December 2023 to June 2024.
The upcoming Buses Bill will also reverse the ban on setting up new publicly-owned bus companies.
