TfL getting closer to setting up publicly owned bus company

Launching the company was a pledge in Sir Sadiq Khan’s 2024 mayoral manifesto reports Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter

The number 4 bus to Archway — credit TfL

Transport for London (TfL) is moving a step closer to setting up its own publicly owned bus company for the capital, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has learned.

Officials are set to start engaging bus operators later this month to discuss the feasibility of bringing currently franchised services in house, according to sources familiar with the talks.

The proposals were first laid out earlier this year in TfL’s business plan, where officials said that as part of a move to “reimagine London’s bus network, we will develop detailed proposals for a new publicly owned bus company for London.”

The study will “assess how this could further support innovation, efficiencies and accountability, and support the needs of customers and the workforce.”

Under the current model, private firms submit bids to TfL to run franchised services, with contracts generally running for seven years and setting performance targets for bus operators with a set income. TfL is still able to set routes and control fare levels.

There are 16 privately-owned operators on the capital’s 675 bus routes, including Arriva, Go-Ahead London, First Bus London, and Stage Coach London.

Should a publicly owned company be launched, when franchise contracts come to an end, TfL could bring them under the new public bus operator.

Such a move would fulfil a promise made by the Mayor of London in his 2024 election manifesto. In August that year, Sir Sadiq Khan told the London Assembly that there were “lots of upsides in us having a publicly owned bus company”, including being able to reinvest any profit back into public transport infrastructure.

TfL are now able to do so thanks to the Bus Services Act passed by the Labour government last year, which lifted the ban on local authorities setting up their own bus companies.

Trade union Unite welcomed the progress, with regional officer Nadine Edwards saying: “Unite has been calling for London buses to be brought back into public ownership for a long time.

“This will stop money flowing from Londoners and Transport for London to private companies who preside over a race to the bottom culture that impacts drivers and services.”

Elly Baker, Labour’s transport spokesperson on the London Assembly, has questioned the mayor on the issue several times in City Hall. She told the LDRS: “Bringing some bus operations directly into public ownership could give TfL greater control over how services are run, improve reliability and safety, and mean money made from operating services can be reinvested in London’s transport network.

“If TfL is now taking practical steps towards establishing a publicly owned bus operator, I very much welcome that progress. I’ve been making the case for TfL to explore this option for some time and I want to see it developed into a serious part of the plan for improving London’s buses.”

Festus Akinbusoye, who is running to be Conservative candidate for Mayor of London, suggested such a move was unnecessary, however.

“Londoners want reliable, affordable buses; they don’t care who owns the company operating them. Sadiq Khan is trying to fix a problem that simply isn’t there. London’s bus franchising model works.

“Other cities in the UK and internationally aim to replicate the success of London.

“Rather than spending taxpayers’ money and years of effort setting up a publicly owned operator, we should be asking how that successful model can be replicated elsewhere in the country.

“All that bringing bus operations in-house achieves is higher costs and more bureaucracy, not better services.

“As mayor, I would protect what works. TfL should focus its time and taxpayers’ money on improving services, tackling fare evasion and making journeys better for Londoners – not dismantling a successful model to win a round of applause from Labour activists.”

Last week, Reform assembly member Keith Prince told a fringe event at the party’s annual conference in Birmingham that the rest of the UK would do well to learn from London’s franchising system.

A TfL spokesperson said: “As part of our work to reimagine London’s bus network, we are currently developing detailed proposals for a new publicly owned bus company for London.

“We are assessing how this could further support innovation, efficiencies and accountability, and support the needs of customers and the workforce.”

Local news needs your support

We are proud that we were at the forefront of reporting on the recent local elections. We can’t do this without the support of our readers.

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

ACT NOW!

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else. £84 annual supporters get a print copy by post and a digital copy of each month's before anyone else.