Bus Bill—Third Reading

“Let's face it, privately-owned bus operators can operate when and where they want, to whatever frequencies they like.”

Post third reading, with the soon-to-come Local Transport Act, quotes like this will be a thing of the past. Or will they?

The so-called ‘Scales Amendment’, so named after Merseytravel’s redoubtable chief executive & director general Neil Scales, is an interesting Westminster U-turn. Before the Local Transport Bill's third reading, the arbiters in the formation of a possible quality contract were to be government appointees. Now, they’re to be local appointees who then make *recommendations* to the local or transport authority. So, that’s one less hurdle in the establishing of QCs—even if an operator may then appeal to the Transport Tribunal (who are… government appointees!).

We won’t know whether QCs are easier to establish than under the Transport Act 2000, till someone has a go. We suspect there will still be significant barriers. Since the emphasis remains on partnerships, though, may be QCs are less relevant. SQPs as defined under the current Local Transport Bill should—will?—give local and transport authorities far more control than they have at the moment; who knows, perhaps enough to see the end of deregulated as we know it.

And Scales has always hinted that Merseytravel’s put right the trains (Merseyrail is now one of the best performing franchises thanks to the PTE), and that he wants to do the same with the buses. If you believe the buses are broken, of course.