Going, Going...

Bit of a non-story, really. Today’s Echo reports that Yellow Buses "finally looks set" to be sold to Transdev. But it doesn’t say whether the deal is done or when it might be. Industry watchers locally expected a firm announcement this week. Well, there’s still two days left, if any such deals get done on Saturdays.

What the article does say, though, is the Transport Secretary now believes the sale process has been conducted in an acceptable manner. This follows Excelsior crying "foul".

Some of the comments within the article are interesting. The deputy leader of Bournemouth council said that deregulation of the bus industry in the 1980s meant there was no advantage to the council owning a bus company, that Bournemouth council has no influence like it did 19 years ago. Deregulation was "probably the worst thing as far as the public were concerned.

"Yellow Buses desperately needs somebody to invest money in the company to be able to compete against Go Ahead", he continued, "which has been attempting an aggressive competitive stance around the area."

Hmmm. Is he saying "Re-regulate"?