Milton Keynes motion to return buses to council control passed

It could still take several years before Milton Keynes Council is back in control of its bus services

A motion to bring bus services back under council control has been passed.

Milton Keynes councillors voted on Wednesday evening to urge government to give them the power to run services.

The local authority's leadership, the Progressive Alliance, made up of Labour and Lib Dem councillors, claimed in the motion that the privatisation of public transport was "a failed experiment".

There was cross-party support for the plan that could take up to three years to change.

The local authority said thousands of people who rely on the buses were being let down by either strike action or the cutting of routes.

The Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher introduced the Transport Act in 1985, which resulted in the privatisation of bus services.

Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Trendall says the council would run a better public bus service

Paul Trendall, Liberal Democrat Progressive Alliance cabinet member for highways, said the authority would take two or three years to change, but the result would be a different model to commercial companies.

"Something more dynamic, something that uses a more agile fleet, more suited to the needs and the routes," he said.

"At the moment we have a one-size-fits-all approach.

"It is vital we push the government to devolve more powers to the city council so we can operate and manage our own bus services more effectively."

Conservative group leader David Hopkins says they needed to find out more as to why bus services were not functioning adequately

Prior to the vote, Conservative opposition leader David Hopkins described delivery of the bus service in Milton Keynes as "an absolutely toxic subject".

"It seems very easy at the other towns across Milton Keynes to deliver a mix of commercial services but in Milton Keynes it's become impossible to do that.

"We want to understand why and are aiming for a solution to deliver an equitable bus service in every part of Milton Keynes."

Alan Francis who is part of the MK Bus Users Group said the motion was a positive step

Alan Francis of the MK Bus Users Group believed the public would be better served if the council ran bus services.

"The council running them or franchising them means they can run where people actually need to go," he said.

"There's all sorts of unserved areas in Milton Keynes that the council should and could run a bus service to."

The majority of bus services in Milton Keynes are run by Arriva, which has had to contend with strikes over pay and withdrawal of routes.

It also recently pulled out of a deal to bring 60 electric buses to the city.

However, the operator said: "Arriva has a proud history of serving Milton Keynes in partnership with the council and we remain committed to build on our commercial network through this ongoing partnership - delivering the best possible service to connect the communities of Milton Keynes."

Council chiefs will now write to the Secretary of State for Transport and request an amendment to the Transport Act 1985 to allow it to operate its own buses.