BIG DAY FOR BUS FRANCHISING IS 19 JULY 2024

Dear Kashia of ACORN, Fran and Paul - copied to Laura Shoaf for any corrections, please

I've been told by Laura Shoaf, Chief Exec of the WMCA that a report on bus franchising is being prepared, with recommendations for the full CA Board to consider on Friday 19 July.

"With regards to bus franchising, as you will be aware, TfWM is undertaking a Full Franchising Assessment which will include consideration of associated costs. The assessment is currently in progress and due to be reported at the West Midlands Combined Authority Board in July."  The members of that Board will then decide after due consideration of the options.  Not the Mayor to decide who is not empowered to be, in any way, dictatorial in stamping his Rule or Authority on others.

Am I correct in thinking that what we had for many decades before the 1980s bus privatisation was bus franchising in all but name?  Even then, council owned and operated bus services did not prevent the poor use of buses as the popularity of car use, instead of bus use, continued to rise and road traffic congestion got worse.  And, of course, the councils destroyed their public tramways in the 50s and about one-third of their railways in subsequent decades - continuing to this very day with their destruction of 6 Kms out of 56 Kms of the 120 Kms Black Country Railway between London and Edinburgh.  Is that a correct memory of the facts of the case, at that time?

Secondly, whoever the Metro Mayor happens to be from one Mayoral election to another, is an irrelevance when he/she is empowered to work with the other seven elected council leaders, Chief Execs and senior directors of the seven councils.  There is a senior leadership team that makes decisions that are then confirmed, or otherwise, by the full Board.  Am I correct in my thinking?  Please reply.

FROM MY OWN NOTES of my meeting with Chief Exec Laura Shoaf on 8 February 2024:

• YOU REMARKED that bus franchising was being studied by your staff and a report would go, in due course, to the WMCA Board for members to consider and make a decision.  Was that in the summer?
• I SUGGESTED: Use the money to keep fares as low as possible and continue with the present policy of talking to bus operators to give them the money to run unsocial hours buses.  Don't empire build by owning all the buses - as well as trams.  Changing the system is costly and the bus passenger may not see any improvement or lower fares or more free fares.

I would be glad to hear the other side of the case, if more people (anybody) would only be interested enough to gleefully put me right!!