The West Midlands Mayor, Richard Parker, has promised that the region’s bus users will start to see improvements to the network ‘two years from next spring’. His pledge to create a public franchise system similar Greater Manchester’s was a key element of his election campaign.
Mayor Parker plans to regain control from private operators over timetables, routes and fares, while contractors own and run the vehicles, according to the BBC.
“The bus network is failing the people of the West Midlands,” Mr Parker said. “It’s currently a private service which receives an enormous amount of subsidy every year.”
West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), which oversees TfWM, provided about £75m in subsidies to private contractors in the 18 months up to May.
The mayor said bringing buses back under public control would prioritise the needs of users. “Two years from next spring we will start seeing real improvements on the network and have the first phases of a franchise system operating in the West Midlands.”
The mayor also said that he had launched an “independent review” to determine the status of ongoing transport projects he had inherited. The review would look at the planning and delivery of projects such as Aldridge Railway Station and the Camp Hill line in south Birmingham, which he confirmed had been further delayed into 2025.
He said announcements previously made did not “reflect the reality on the ground” and said he would be “really clear on the hurdles [projects] need to reach for funding to be secured” once his review was completed.
