Mayor pledges to bring buses under public control

West Midlands mayor Richard Parker said he planned to return buses to public control with a franchising scheme

The new mayor of the West Midlands has pledged to bring buses back under public control within the next two years.

Labour's Richard Parker defeated Conservative Andy Street, who had held the office for seven years, by just over 1,500 votes.

Outlining some of his priorities for the region, Mr Parker said he wanted to be a mayor who was “visible, accessible and accountable across all the region”.

He said he was "very clear" in his plan to return buses to public control in a franchise system which he said would benefit every borough in the West Midlands.

Mr Parker beat Andy Street by a margin of 1,508 votes

Under the planned franchising scheme, bus routes, timetables, fares and the standards of the services would be decided by the West Midlands Combined Authority, which the mayor leads.

Mr Parker told BBC Radio WM he had spoken to many people across the region who couldn't get to the high street, the doctors, or to work or college due to the "failings of the bus system".

"Given that fare-paying passengers contribute 40% of the costs to run the buses, I believe they and we should have a far greater say in the routes that are run, the timetabling, we need to make a difference to people’s lives," he said.

Referring to the forthcoming general election, he added: “With a Labour government removing some of the barriers that the Tories have put in… we believe we can make real progress within the next two years."

Mr Parker described how there were jobs in Solihull town centre, at companies such as Jaguar Land Rover and at the airport, that "young people from north Solihull… can’t get to because the buses don’t operate at the times they need".

“The failure of the bus system is having a massive impact on people’s lives and it’s preventing so many of them getting that first job that can make the real difference to them," he added.

The newly-elected mayor also pledged he would be more "visible" to people across the region, and would stick to his plan of opening mayoral bases in Coventry and the Black Country.

Speaking to BBC CWR about the Very Light Railway (VLR) system in Coventry, Mr Parker said there were "a number of stages we need to get through before we get it up-and-running".

He also outlined the "very important issue" around the gigafactory in Coventry and "the investment zone that needs to be moved forward to attract jobs and the investment that the region needs".

"There's a very positive future for the West Midlands, we need to refocus our priorities in a different way and make what we're doing meaningful to our communities," he added.