Where did the Bus Go?

She’s entitled to a free bus pass and is therefore a stakeholder in the bus service. At the time of her parliamentary big speech, will Her Majesty be as disappointed as me that there is so little on bus services within in the Conservative-Liberal programme for government? Here is the only clue we get:

“We… will encourage joint working between bus operators and local authorities.”

Let’s perform some exegesis of these sparse words. First, we have to assume that for “local authorities” read “local transport authorities”, including the ITAs.

Secondly, “joint working” can mean many things, from voluntary to statutory partnerships. Indeed, it’s rare to find a LTA that isn’t working jointly with its operators, in some way, even if that’s not recognised by the mayor’s signature on an accord or an agreement with photo-shoot. I am not aware of any authority actively working *against* its bus operators! Though some could do more. Might the 11 words in the programme document therefore be slightly meaningless?

“Encourage” does not mean the government will force local authorities to work in partnership. But it does indicate an expectation. Neither does it imply town halls seizing control. It seems that there will be no sanction should a local authority fail to work with operators.

My own interpretation is that, tough light on detail when compared to some rail issues, the government means there should be an emphasis on partnership working beyond the average. A kind of active partnership. Otherwise, why mention it? It would appear that when it came to the inevitable compromises between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, the latter had the upper hand so far as bus services are concerned. Liberal policies wanted an authoritarian approach, ceding control to transport authorities. That clearly won’t be the immediate future. We may therefore assume in this joint statement that the new government has put paid to the prospect of quality contracts, for which operator will no doubt be grateful. Perhaps it will even repeal those clauses within the Local Transport Act 2008 that refer to franchises, as the Conservatives hinted before election time.

Assuming voters get this far into the document and assuming that they understand or care about the subtleties of partnership, they may well feel saddened that there will henceforward be no overt public control. Ordinary passengers do seem to have an appetite for a change of regime. Even some local Conservative politicians can feel that way.