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New report on buses by @CentreforCities (interestingly sponsored and supported by three companies that operate [franchised] buses). I& #39;m going to the launch event in Manchester later. Very strong & clear findings, great to see how far we& #39;ve come in England. https://www.centreforcities.org/publication/improving-urban-bus-transport/">https://www.centreforcities.org/publicati...
![New report on buses by @CentreforCities (interestingly sponsored and supported by three companies that operate [franchised] buses). I& #39;m going to the launch event in Manchester later. Very strong & clear findings, great to see how far we& #39;ve come in England. https://www.centreforcities.org/publicati...](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EJPtYVVWwAAAKmt.png "New report on buses by @CentreforCities (interestingly sponsored and supported by three companies that operate [franchised] buses). I& #39;m going to the launch event in Manchester later. Very strong & clear findings, great to see how far we& #39;ve come in England. https://www.centreforcities.org/publicati...")
We are now at the stage where even I, a long time supporter of cities having the right to control their own buses, think we can afford to be careful. In Greater Manchester I& #39;ve got no doubts, franchising is worth trying, let& #39;s try it. But in smaller cities? I& #39;m not so sure.
Buses in small cities like Oxford, Reading, York, Brighton, etc... often work fine. You& #39;ve got a single local authority and usually a single operator and they can work together quite well. And you don& #39;t need to worry about intermodal and intercompany co-operation much.
The cities shouldn& #39;t be banned, as now, from deciding for themselves. And just having the power to franchise if they really want will spur bus operators into thinking harder about meeting the needs of the city. But I think that often the best decision will be no change.
But into the report, top findings are,
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✔️" title="Heavy check mark" aria-label="Emoji: Heavy check mark">Buses can help improve city productivity. (YES! something bus operators often miss).
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✔️" title="Heavy check mark" aria-label="Emoji: Heavy check mark">Buses support inclusive growth.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✔️" title="Heavy check mark" aria-label="Emoji: Heavy check mark">Buses enable higher urban housing concentration.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✔️" title="Heavy check mark" aria-label="Emoji: Heavy check mark">Buses are better for the environment and air quality than cars.
#TheMostImportantGraph, to which I have added an annotation. How bus use in major cities outside of London went from double the level of London to half the level of London. It& #39;s important. Lots of factors as well as forced deregulation, but deregulation was a factor. No doubt.
Love a box. This is a good box.
Next up, what are the problems with buses in big cities outside London now?
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✔️" title="Heavy check mark" aria-label="Emoji: Heavy check mark">No cross-subsidy between routes. Yes! £1.50 fare in South Manchester vs. £3.50 fare in North Manchester is bad.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✔️" title="Heavy check mark" aria-label="Emoji: Heavy check mark">Bus wars. Yes. It& #39;s a short-term gain with long-term costs. Leads to bus congestion too.
But the biggest problem are the 4th, 5th, and 6th that the report mentions.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✔️" title="Heavy check mark" aria-label="Emoji: Heavy check mark">No control = no Oyster card. People in Manchester are still queuing up to buy complex and changing bus tickets that don& #39;t work across modes. Meanwhile on the regulated tram, tap-in and tap-out. Easy!
This is an absolutely savage graph. Love it. I leave commentary to the reader.
Section 5 describes The Bus Services Act and the progress of the big city regions. Section 6 is a really useful comparison of enhanced partnerships (the option most big city operators are currently arguing for) and franchising (what Greater Manchester wants). It& #39;s excellent.
TLDR: Section 6 -- you are not getting an easy and simple fares and payment system for multi-modal public transport like in Lille, Paris, Barcelona, Hamburg, London, etc... without franchising.
Section 7 and Section 8 are sensible and now I& #39;m going to go to the launch event of this report. I will be cycling, not taking the bus. If it were raining, I& #39;d probably take the tram.
First up Abellio London Bus saying they& #39;re keen on franchising. Keen to enter the market. Keen to compete. Keen to drive down costs. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎉" title="Party popper" aria-label="Emoji: Party popper"> Capitalism https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎉" title="Party popper" aria-label="Emoji: Party popper">
Second up @PascaleRobinson is excellent on the community need for better and integrated and understandable services. Then GM Chamber of Commerce on why business wants franchising. And @SirRichardLeese on how hard they& #39;ve worked for so long to get here. Fantastic stuff. All ace.
