Let’s grill the Bus Bill

Brendan Roberts

When did promoting a fair bit of competition become so wrong? The Welsh Labour government seem to believe that the bus franchising model they’re proposing will actually work.

I have news for them, it won’t. They believe the new system will allow public, private or third sector operators to bid for packages of local bus services. But there will only be one type of winner under this system, the large private companies.

If Welsh Labour don’t believe me, they only have to look at London or Manchester. These are two cities with bus franchising already in place and two of the big names on the scene are Stagecoach (now owned by DWS, a German asset management company) and Arriva (now owned by I Squared Capital, an American private equity firm).

Money Talks

So, why is this? It all comes down to money. Whilst the big, foreign-owned, corporate bus operators who are awash with cash are more than able to buy that new fleet of buses or invest in that new bus depot, our local, hard-working SME (small to medium enterprise) bus operators are putting in more effort just to pay staff, meet overheads, and then just about turn over a very small profit.

For a party that claims to have socialist principles, Welsh Labour certainly don’t mind a slice of capitalism, but in all the wrong forms.

Working Buses

Can bus franchising work? Without a shadow of a doubt. But the Welsh Labour government needs to understand this, Wales is not London or Manchester, we are a nation, not a city.

Wales has many small, local, independent bus operators that are beloved by their communities. They will find it more difficult to put up the money to bid for a route, to make investments in their fleet or depot. It shouldn’t go unnoticed that local, independent operators are a lifeline to communities and can often compliment routes run by bigger operators.

Whilst the large, corporate bus operators are focusing on taking more of your money on only the most profitable routes, the small, local bus operator you can trust is embedded in the community, and therefore understands it, knowing how to optimise route design according to actual need.

Co-operation is needed here, and there are other options like Enhanced Partnerships or Bus Service Improvement Plans that can still meet all the fare-capping, can integrate with other modes of transportation, and achieve the environmental requirements we must respect.

Devon

I point to Devon, now what has this plucky English county got to do with buses and Wales? Well, its geography is remarkably similar to many parts of Wales with a lot of rural villages, urban towns, and a couple of cities.

In October 2022, Devon County Council and local bus operators formed the ‘DevonBus Enhanced Partnership.’ This fine example of co-operation on a more local level is proof that franchising isn’t the be all and end all.

When it comes to fare-capping we have seen a commitment from the new UK Government to keep the single-ticket fare at £2, in England at least. And whilst it will be going up to £3 in the new year (probably because Keir Starmer doesn’t ever have to worry about getting the bus) it is not the worst deal in the world.

Sticking with the ‘DevonBus Enhanced Partnership’ plan, it includes the need to upgrade bus stations and key interchanges, to better integrate with longer distance coach services, and to strengthen links with active travel opportunities.

Visiting family in Exmouth last year, I was thoroughly impressed with how Exeter had already met these goals. This great city has a healthy dose of bus lanes, a new bus station with real-time information, a couple of coach stops across the way for National Express, and when I was paying even more attention there was an electric-bicycle hire scheme too!

And what of the eco-friendly credentials of Devon’s buses? Well, Devon County Council and Stagecoach ( because they make up 80% of Devon’s bus routes at the moment) put in a joint bid for funding from the DfT (Department for Transport) Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme (ZEBRA) and have secured £5.3m to provide a fleet of 40 electric buses to scurry around Exeter, North Devon, and Torridge.

For once, maybe just throwing money at the problem could actually work. The Welsh Government should cap single-ticket fares (like in England), and make funding available for zero-emission buses every year for a specific time-period. Welsh local authorities should then have Enhanced Partnerships with bus operators in their areas and create Bus Service Improvement Plans, where they agree to put in joint-bids for that bus funding, they agree to fund bus stop improvements perhaps on a 50/50 basis, they agree to build a new bus lane, and so much more!

A Wake Up Call

What is the takeaway from all of this? One-size does not fit all, businesses matter whatever category they may fit into. Bus operators, big or small are open-minded, and want to work with the Welsh Government, but so far they feel trodden on and spoken down to as if they know nothing about the sector. Ken Skates should perhaps hop off that gravy train and try his hand at driving a bus instead.

There are alternatives and Welsh Labour should think harder rather than ride roughshod over the backbone of our nation’s smaller bus operators.

Brendan has been a civil servant, local government officer, and he now works in the third-sector.

Recently he was also elected to Henllys Community Council, becoming the first Liberal Democrat to be elected within the boundary of Torfaen for 12 years.