West Yorkshire buses: Public to be consulted over franchise plans

A decision will not be made until next year

A consultation on taking bus services in West Yorkshire back under public control will be held before Christmas.

The public will be asked whether or not they support mayor Tracy Brabin's plan to introduce London-style franchising for buses.

Franchising would mean private firms would be awarded contracts to deliver services set by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA).

The WYCA said the current system was "not delivering".

The consultation is set to start before Christmas and a final decision on future arrangements likely to be made next spring.

Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, told a meeting of the WYCA on Thursday: "The current bus system is not delivering, with a variety of passenger and market challenges we're all aware of.

"This has been demonstrated through the long-term decline in patronage."

She said reform was required as the current arrangements for buses could not deliver the "pace and scale of change" leaders wanted to see.

WYCA has given assurances that the consultation will be balanced, despite leaders' preference for the franchising option.

Political leaders believe the current system is not delivering for passengers

In 2017 the Bus Services Act gave city regions the power to introduce bus franchising, with Greater Manchester earlier this week becoming the first area to implement it.

If bus franchising was agreed for West Yorkshire it would not take effect until 2027 at the earliest, which the mayor said was due to government-enforced timescales.

Alan Lamb, who leads Leeds' Conservative opposition, told the meeting he was opposed to the franchising model being pursued.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it could cost the public more money and would take too long to deliver more "affordable and reliable" services for passengers.

"This will be much more expensive and it doesn't deliver any improvements until at least 2028, by which time who knows what the world will look like?

"There is an assumption that a government grant will be forthcoming to help deliver franchising.

"If it isn't, then people could see their council tax bills going up by hundreds of pounds a year."

He suggested the authority pursue a different deal with the bus companies, which would give the mayor more power but would stop short of overall control.

The WYCA said details of the consultation would be released within weeks.