The boss of Nottingham City Transport (NCT) says he wants to stay “well away” from any changes in the way the bus company operates under the new East Midlands Combined County Authority.
Under some regional mayoral councils, such as in Liverpool, bus services operate under what’s known as a franchising model.
These models are used because many bus services in the UK are today run under a private operator on a-for-profit basis.
But the research charity Centre for Cities says this has “resulted in poor quality bus networks” in many regions.
Under a franchised system, powers are given back to the relevant public transport authority, which awards exclusive contracts to private operators.
In this system, the council retains control of key aspects of bus services, including route setting, fares and timetables.
In Nottingham, however, the main bus operator has avoided privatisation.
Nottingham City Transport was established as an arms-length Nottingham City Council company in 1986, and through this arrangement the authority receives a small dividend.
The company is not profit-driven, and typically aims for a margin between five and eight per cent each year, with much of this going back into services.
Its managing director, David Astill, has argued against any potential franchising arrangement under the new East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA).
NCT was named UK Bus Operator of the Year for a record-breaking sixth time in February, and is often praised for the way in which it operates its frequent and punctual services.
He said: “We hope to continue the positive relationship with [EMCCA].
“As we go through the transition into a much larger transport authority, we want to stay well away from franchising.
“We don’t think that is necessary for Nottingham.”
EMCCA will become the single public transport body for the whole region by 2026, starting with transitioning over bus functions in this year.
This means it will gain control of the transport functions that are currently held by Nottingham and Derby City Council and Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire County Council.
EMCCA says the transfer includes setting a clear plan for bus service improvements, concessionary fares, supported bus services, smart ticketing, passenger information provision, planning, infrastructure and more.
When asked about the potential for a franchising system, Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward (Lab), confirmed her preference is to avoid franchising – and instead seek to work with existing operators to make improvements.
Ms Ward told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “One of my firm manifesto commitments is to work with bus companies to increase services and routes.
“As the responsibility for buses moves to EMCCA in the coming months, I have asked for an assessment to be carried out of the whole network so that I have a full understanding of where problems exist and how these might be resolved.
“I have set aside some funding to do this. I should say that a full examination of franchising is not part of this, as my strong preference is to work in close partnership with our existing bus operators to maximise what can be achieved in the short term.
“This will avoid us tying ourselves to what might be a lengthy and costly process towards franchising, which in any event may not provide the best solution for this area.”
Keep them as they are. We get a good service. Don’t want this Mayor sticking her nose in. What does she know about running buses?