Burnham hails ‘big day’ for West Midlands as buses brought under public control
The Prime Minister visited Wolverhampton bus station this morning
Last updated 7 hours ago
Andy Burnham has credited the “single biggest act of public control” since coming into office for preventing the collapse of West Midlands bus services.
No 10 North and the West Midlands Combined Authority have joined forces to save local bus services in private hands that were at risk of vanishing.
The Prime Minister said it was “a very big day” for the region, and the “first major milestone” in his push to give communities more control over their services.
He also lauded a second transport announcement during a Tuesday visit to a bus station, saying the extension of free travel for disabled bus pass holders would “make a huge difference to people’s lives”.
Mr Burnham, who is seeking to ease cost-of-living pressures, said “it shouldn’t have taken this long to remove” the current time restriction on free bus travel for disabled people.
The West Midlands bus deal would protect thousands of jobs, Mr Burnham said, after they were threatened after the parent company behind local operator National Express indicated it was leaving the market.
Speaking to reporters at Wolverhampton bus station, the Labour leader said: “This is the single biggest act of public control since I came into office.
“And the reason I’m here supporting the mayor of the West Midlands, a very big day for the West Midlands, is to prevent services from collapsing, because the bus service here was close to collapse.
“And the first reason is to protect what is the backbone of the public transport system here across the West Midlands, serving millions of people.
“We needed to step in to secure services in the short term.
“But longer term, we are now building to a model under full public control, so that people here can get the the benefits of that.”
In an earlier video posted on X, Mr Burnham said the “absolutely massive” move was “the first major milestone in our drive to giving communities more control over their own services”.
It was “exactly what No 10 North was created to deliver”, he said.
Backed by £11.5 million of new Government funding over the next three years, the deal announced on Tuesday will support the West Midlands to keep bus services running.
The partnership between the West Midlands and the Government will protect around 4,800 jobs and keep up to 750 buses a day on the road, according to Downing Street.
In the longer term, West Midlands intends to control bus services through franchising, like in London and Greater Manchester, paying contractors to run the services for them.
West Midlands is finalising the total cost of the deal and is expected to complete the transaction in the autumn.
West Midlands’ Labour Mayor Richard Parker said: “People rely on these buses to get to work, to school or to hospital appointments.
“They are a public service, and I believe they should be run in the public interest.
“So, we stepped in.
“We protected the services people depend on, protected jobs and kept the West Midlands moving.
“There should be no doubt who our bus network ultimately answers to – the millions of people who rely on it every single day.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “This funding will help protect thousands of jobs and support the West Midlands’ move to franchising, so mayor Richard Parker can build a bus network that puts passengers first.
“Alongside our £2 fare cap and free summer bus travel for young people, it’s part of our plan to deliver better, more reliable buses while making every pound of taxpayers’ money work harder.”
Mr Burnham also promoted the plans to make bus travel free at all hours for disabled bus pass holders from April next year, which he said a million people would benefit from.
At the moment, disabled bus passes are valid for travel only on weekdays from 9.30am to 11pm unless local authorities fund an extension, as Greater Manchester did earlier this year when Mr Burnham was mayor.
The Prime Minister said: “It will make a huge difference to people’s lives.
“It’s an arbitrary rule that doesn’t reflect what it is to live your life when you maybe need to get to a hospital appointment or go to work.”
He continued: “It shouldn’t have taken this long to remove it, but we will remove it from next April.
“As Prime Minister, what I’ve said is, I just want to make life that little bit better for people.
“It won’t always be the big things because obviously things are tight. Money is tight.
“But where I can do something to take that little bit of pressure off to give people a bit more freedom and ability to save a few pounds a week, I will do it.”
The £60 million to fund the move comes from existing budgets – with £40 million from the Department for Work and Pensions and £20 million from the Department for Transport.