New build towns and buses deregulation

175mph · 12 Jul 2019

I've read an old discussion on RailForums about the government at the time wanting new 'eco towns' built and reading that discussion made me think that what if the bus deregulation legislation was amended so that if these new eco towns were, bus deregulation would not apply and would have their own vertically integrated bus operators fully owned by the local authorities of that town and not just at arms length like Nottingham City Transport ie if there was a new town called Jack Russell Town, it would have a fully council owned and operated public transport company called Jack Russell Town Transport.

Of course, operators like Stagecoach etc would be allowed to call at the town as part of their inter urban routes, ie if this new town was built between Grimsby and Hull, Stagecoach could divert their Humber Flyer route to serve this new town and connect it with existing towns and cities.

Would this seem like a good idea and if not, why?

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peterblue · 12 Jul 2019

I think bus companies (generally) would be better to run buses in the town as they usually have more experience and knowledge to be able to provide a good service at a suitable cost.

While there are excellent municipal operators like NCT and Reading (even though it is 'arms length') there are a lot of poor ones too. Halton, for example isn't as good.

I'm in my twenties so too young to remember the pre deregulation era.

I'd rather trust e.g. Stagecoach to do it!

Interested to hear competing views. Don't see the benefit for a commuter deep in the suburbs of Jack Russel Town to get the local bus to the town centre then get a Stagecoach bus to e.g. Hull. From their perspective it isn't a good thing. Would cost substantially more. I don't see the point in having extra companies and competition just for the heck of it. Deregulation should encourage companies to provide a good service, or, a competitor may see an opportunity to improve.

PeterC · 12 Jul 2019

From an examination of a few old timetables from the Home Counties I would say that historically regulated services gave better services on local and rural routes at the expense of inter-urban. If anything operators that I have looked at here seem to be moving towards more direct centre to centre routings and eliminating some of the detours to serve off route estates. Of course deregulation has seem the cutting or even elimination of evening and Sunday journeys.

Rod Harrison · 12 Jul 2019

175mph said:
I've read an old discussion on RailForums about the government at the time wanting new 'eco towns' built and reading that discussion made me think that what if the bus deregulation legislation was amended so that if these new eco towns were, bus deregulation would not apply and would have their own vertically integrated bus operators fully owned by the local authorities of that town and not just at arms length like Nottingham City Transport ie if there was a new town called Jack Russell Town, it would have a fully council owned and operated public transport company called Jack Russell Town Transport.

Of course, operators like Stagecoach etc would be allowed to call at the town as part of their inter urban routes, ie if this new town was built between Grimsby and Hull, Stagecoach could divert their Humber Flyer route to serve this new town and connect it with existing towns and cities.

Would this seem like a good idea and if not, why?

The problem is that, prior to deregulation and the NBC, there were many successful local authority and private bus companies because there were much larger numbers of bus passengers compared with today. Also the cost to a New Town to start a company would be excessive, even with leasing, when there are many private companies who could provide a good service. There is an argument for there to be be some subsidy to help start up services and move people away from cars.

Bletchleyite · 12 Jul 2019

In practice operations in new areas and towns are regulated to start with anyway, as until everyone's moved in they aren't economic. A very common model is to fund 5 years of operation via tendering from planning gain.

New build towns and buses deregulation

Would this be a good idea regarding new build towns and bus deregulation?

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