By Richard Johnstone | 26 August 2014
Deregulation of bus services outside London has failed and new regional transport authorities should be created with powers to introduce franchises similar to those in the capital, the Institute for Public Policy Research has said.
The think-tank stated that deregulation, which sees private firms operate routes without any oversight from public authorities, had led to the poorest fifth of households taking more taxi journeys than any other income group. As only 30% of households in the lowest income decile own a car, poor bus services since deregulation from local authority control in 1986 had left many with no other option, today’s Greasing the wheels report said.
However, deregulation was not introduced in London, where routes are tendered as franchises by Transport for London.
As a result, bus passenger journeys have nearly doubled in the capital over the last 30 years while they have fallen by nearly one-third outside London, the report highlighted.
To address this, local transport bodies modelled on Transport for London should be created for city region combined authorities to take control of transport policy, IPPR associate director Will Straw said. This should include regulation and contracting of bus markets where the private sector is failing to deliver an adequate service.
It was ‘no accident’ that London has Britain’s best buses, Straw said.
‘Transport for London has been a great success while the deregulation of buses outside London has largely failed.
‘Outside London, bus passenger journeys are down and fares are rising higher than inflation. Examples of successful bus markets outside London are all too rare so local transport bodies should be given greater powers to hold uncompetitive providers to account.
‘As well as regulating bus services, routes and fares, these new bodies should have a wider role of encouraging better integration between buses and other modes of transport including rail.’
These new transport bodies should also be given responsibility for areas such as school and hospital transport, with savings made from achieving efficiencies reinvested in other local sustainable transport projects, he added.
