Cost of bringing buses back under public control in West Yorkshire revealed

Mayor Tracy Brabin is looking to deliver a key election pledge by launching a bus franchising scheme in 2027, claiming it would make services across the region more reliable and more affordable.

The move would see West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) – the taxpayer funded organisation which she runs – take full control of the bus network so it can make decisions about routes, services and fares.

Passengers have been invited to have their say during a public consultation which was launched today and Ms Brabin said she will review the responses before making a final decision in March.

WYCA said it would need to spend around £20m on the staff and facilities it needs to run the network and £70-£95m on buying and upgrading bus depots – but that would not require a council tax hike.

Ms Brabin, who is standing for re-election next year, is looking to follow in the footsteps of her counterparts in Manchester and Liverpool who have already brought buses back under public control.

The Labour mayor has previously said private operators are “focused on satisfying shareholders” and have driven passengers away in recent years, by running unreliable services and cutting routes which do not generate a significant profit.

They have also become heavily reliant on taxpayer-funded subsidies, which pay for around a fifth of the services they run in West Yorkshire.

However, First Bus has proposed another approach to franchising, which is known as an “enhanced partnership plus”.

The proposal, which has been backed by other private operators, would allow them to continue to run services and work in partnership with WYCA to make decisions about routes, services and fares.

The operators claim it would allow Ms Brabin to deliver her objectives – of bus making services cheaper, greener and more reliable – but also be much cheaper and easier to deliver.

It comes as operators claim they have been forced to cut dozens of services because they have been struggling to cover their costs since passenger numbers plummeted during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Government has provided operators outside London with more than £3.5bn to help them protect bus services during the pandemic and cap single fares at £2.

In West Yorkshire, Ms Brabin has been working to improve services and increase passenger numbers, since securing almost £70m of Government funding for an ambitious bus service improvement plan.

Around £30m is due to be spent on upgrading the bus network and introducing new services on a number of routes, to make them more frequent and more reliable.

As part of the bus service improvement plan, operators have also capped single fares at £2 and day passes at £4.50 since September 2022, in exchange for around £1.2m of subsidies each month