Mayor Richard Parker has officially invited bus companies to submit bids to run the first publicly-owned bus services on the region’s roads in more than 40 years.
The invitation is a major milestone for the Mayor’s flagship policy to bring buses back under public control so that routes, timetables and fares can be set by the politically accountable Mayor and West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) instead of private operators.
The first wave of franchised contracts covering Coventry, North Birmingham and Walsall will be awarded early next year, with services launching in October 2027.
The franchising model, which is already used in London and Manchester, will replace the region’s existing deregulated private operator-led system which relies on huge taxpayer subsidies to keep more buses on the road and fares lower than they would be if left to market forces.
Under the forthcoming franchised network the WMCA will directly control bus services and pay a contractor to run them. Operators will be expected to run reliable and efficient services.
The WMCA is also busy buying a fleet of buses and depots to level the playing field for potential contractors by making it easier for smaller or out-of-region operators to bid for contracts.
The Mayor said: “This is a decisive step towards fixing our bus network which for too long has served private interests over passengers. We are designing our network around the people who rely on it every day – to make it more reliable and raise standards of service.
“My message to bus operators, big or small, is simple – compete for these contracts and help us build a world-class public transport network we can all be proud of.”
Since the Covid pandemic bus services in the West Midlands have become increasingly reliant on public subsidy. This includes the government’s single-fare cap – which is due to be reduced from £3 to £2 in January 2027 – and on more than £50m a year WMCA funding, without which operators have warned half of all existing services would be at risk.
Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which is part of the WMCA, has further supported bus services through investment in infrastructure such a bus stations, electric vehicles, bus priority routes and the award winning Your Bussing It marketing campaign. This offered free try-before-you-buy tickets and passes to key groups including students, families, NHS workers and large employers to pass on to staff.
The Mayor has made taking public control of buses a key priority and took the decision to press ahead with it in May 2025. Since then, officials have been speaking to the industry and designing the future network ready to go to market.
Meanwhile, Unite has welcomed the news that West Midlands bus services are being returned to public control.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:
“Unite welcomes the decision today by the government and the West Midlands Combined Authority to safeguard jobs and services.
“The fact that a single operator could put nearly the entire West Midlands’ bus network at risk is lunacy.
“It is yet another example of how bus companies across the country are failing bus workers, passengers and communities in their drive to extract profits at the expense of jobs and services.
“This is why Unite will keep campaigning for bus services everywhere in the UK to be brought back under public ownership.”
(Picture: WMCA)
