with JAMES DAY
The announcement of a snap general election on May 22 took much of the country by surprise. With the announcement made not much more than a month before the vote is to take place, it’s difficult for Buses to cover what each of the major parties are pledging in relation to the bus industry. This July issue will go to press before manifestos have been released, while the August issue will be on sale after the election has taken place.
What we can do is cover the outcome of the recent mayoral elections (see page 44). The outcome was overwhelmingly in favour of Labour, with Andy Street in the West Midlands being perhaps the biggest loss for the Conservatives in a very close contest in the West Midlands. In most of these combined authority regions, this means bus franchising is very much on the table, though it’s clear that most political parties would consider making publicly-controlled bus networks more widespread.
Shortly after the West Midlands result, I was asked to speak on local radio, and heard that the new West Midlands mayor, Richard Parker, expected that franchising in the region could be delivered within a couple of years for about £25m, and he anticipated that ongoing costs be…
