Bus operators are to be invited to tender to run routes across parts of the West Midlands network as the next step in introducing a franchised system gets under way. Invitation to tender for the first round is scheduled to open later this month for North/East Birmingham, Coventry and Walsall, with services expected to start in 2027, reports the BBC.

A second round for Dudley, Sandwell and Wolverhampton is expected in 2028, with a third for Solihull and South and West Birmingham the following year.

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker pledged to move the region’s bus network from its current private operator-led model to franchising, after he was elected in 2024.

He said franchising will return control over fares, timetables and routes back to public hands, with decisions taken by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which is part of West Midlands Combined Authority.

The WMCA currently provides an annual subsidy of around £50million to private operators, but this has failed to stop fare increases and service reductions.

Parker said communities and business groups’ “biggest plea” to him while he was campaigning to be mayor, was “do all I can to improve the bus network”.

(Picture: West Midlands Combined Authority)