To: Mayor of Greater Manchester
End privatisation in the Bee Network: full public ownership now!
The Bee Network ended the Wild West free market that plagued our bus network.
But it didn't end privatisation.
Private companies still wreak havoc. In fact, they're now guaranteed profits from bus franchising contracts — all at our expense.
We call on you to set up a new publicly owned bus company and bring our bus services back in-house.
But it didn't end privatisation.
Private companies still wreak havoc. In fact, they're now guaranteed profits from bus franchising contracts — all at our expense.
We call on you to set up a new publicly owned bus company and bring our bus services back in-house.
Why is this important?
Better Buses for Greater Manchester was right to campaign for the end of the failed deregulated bus market in our region.
Franchising, introduced under Andy Burnham, means that only bus companies with a contact from the Mayor can run services. As a result, strategic network planning is now under local authority control — which is why services can be integrated with one brand, ticket, and timetable.
But private companies still call the shots on day-to-day essential decisions — like wages, staff T&Cs, and much else.
And they have a guaranteed profit margin — millions a year that could be going back into services and keeping fares down.
In London, Sadiq Khan is setting up a publicly owned bus company to take over contacts for TfL buses.
The government also promised to deliver the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation and lifted the ban on new publicly owned bus companies.
The next Mayor must set up a publicly owned bus company — like the award winning firms in Nottingham, Reading, Edinburgh, Blackpool and beyond.
Buses must be truly run by and for us.
Franchising, introduced under Andy Burnham, means that only bus companies with a contact from the Mayor can run services. As a result, strategic network planning is now under local authority control — which is why services can be integrated with one brand, ticket, and timetable.
But private companies still call the shots on day-to-day essential decisions — like wages, staff T&Cs, and much else.
And they have a guaranteed profit margin — millions a year that could be going back into services and keeping fares down.
In London, Sadiq Khan is setting up a publicly owned bus company to take over contacts for TfL buses.
The government also promised to deliver the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation and lifted the ban on new publicly owned bus companies.
The next Mayor must set up a publicly owned bus company — like the award winning firms in Nottingham, Reading, Edinburgh, Blackpool and beyond.
Buses must be truly run by and for us.
