Milton Keynes Council welcomes bus franchising plans

The council has welcomed government plans to give local authorities more control over bus services.

New legislation is being considered to introduce a franchising system that would give councils the power to determine routes, timetables and fairs, with operators bidding for contracts.

Milton Keynes City Council previously backed a proposal to tighten controls two years ago after councilors agreed thousands of commuters were being frustrated by poor service provision.

Councilor Jennifer Wilson-Marklew said “franchising is really promising” but what do residents and bus users think?

Shenley Retirement Village is three miles from Milton Keynes’ main shopping area and is home to 308 residents, all over the age of 55.

There are two bus stops near the entrance, but neither can be used at the moment as there is no connection to the city centre.

“About half the villagers don’t have access to a car, many of them elderly who have difficulty walking,” said David Tunney, one of the residents.

“The bus service is vital for those people who feel particularly isolated, mentally depressed and trapped in the countryside.”

After Alan Francis of the Milton Keynes bus user group left the No. 2 route to Newport Pagnell, he cautiously welcomed the idea of ​​local authorities running the service.

“This is what passengers want because they can lobby the council, which is much more responsive to what local people want,” he said.

“If the council were to fund the buses, it could set times and frequencies, including when the first and last bus on a route would run.”

However, he warned: “The powers the government is offering to the council are useless without some funding.”

In the recent Budget, the Government announced almost £1bn “to deliver high-quality services and protect vital bus routes across the country”.

However, it is unknown whether some of this money will be transferred to councils as part of the franchising idea.

It also raised the fare cap to £3 per journey. Despite the increase, the company hopes that more people will travel by bus and the amount of money coming into the service will increase.

The 1985 Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher introduced the Transport Act, which led to the privatization of bus services. This meant that operators would only provide services that were profitable.

Wilson-Marklew said franchising the Better Buses Bill, which is expected to be debated in Parliament towards the end of the year, was “really promising and the council is looking at it”.

“As a city, we’ve tried very, very hard to make public transportation accessible and accessible to as many people as possible,” she added.

“But the decline we have seen over the last twenty years continues and even increases.”

She agreed that change was needed sooner rather than later and said: “As long as we continue to operate buses on a commercial basis, we will continue to see a decline in these services.”