Liverpool City Region's buses to be brought under public control

Mr Rotheram said the move was a cause for celebration

A region's buses will be brought back under local control for the first time in nearly 40 years, after councillors voted in favour of the plan.

Liverpool City Region (LCR) will be the second area in England to reverse the deregulation of services, following a similar rollout in Greater Manchester.

Regulated services are expected to begin in St Helens in 2026 and gradually phased in across the area.

LCR Mayor Steve Rotheram said it was his "most significant act" to date.

Deregulation, which was introduced in 1986, was supposed to drive down fares and improve services amid competition, but has led to complaints about fewer services, punctuality and higher costs.

The move will see LCR Combined Authority, which covers Merseyside and Halton in Cheshire, commission the bus operators, control fares and routes and have the power to reinvest profits into services.

Bus deregulation, which was introduced in 1986, has led to several operators running services in the region

Mr Rotheram said it was a cause for celebration.

"This is our time to take our bus network off life support and nurse it back to health," he said.

"Today is the day that will change the face of public transport forever where we live.

"It's a decision that has taken six years to come to because the legislation was just so difficult to try and get through, but we've done it and it means now that our buses are going to be taken back into control."

He said the authority would "buy a new fleet, we will invest in zero emissions technology, we will have control of the routes, the fares [and] the way the whole system starts to integrate together with trains, ferries and active travel".

"It's going to take a couple of years... but that's time that will be spent making sure we get all the mechanics right," he added.

Matthew Topham, a member of the Better Buses for Merseyside passenger group, said the new plan "can't come soon enough".

"Today's announcement is transformational for passengers," he said.

"Gone will be the days of unaccountable bus operators who can afford to ignore us."

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