More bus services coming back into public ownership after Manchester - find out where is next

Greater Manchester has become the first region of England to regain control and its mayor, Labour’s Andy Burnham, hopes for cheaper fares and better services on the Bee Network

Bus services are on track to be brought back under public control after decades of “Wild West” privatisation.

Moves are afoot for local authorities to regain powers for setting fares and routes. Areas seeking change include West Yorkshire, where a consultation ends a month today with a decision due in March. A poll for campaign group We Own It found nine in 10 thought local or central government should be in charge.

Greater Manchester has become the first region of England to regain control and its mayor, Labour’s Andy Burnham, hopes for cheaper fares and better services on the Bee Network. Liverpool is set to be the second place to overturn decades of bus regulation and consultations start next year in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Yorkshire.

Campaigns are also advanced in the West Midlands, Oxfordshire, Bristol and Strathclyde, while candidates for mayoral elections in North Yorkshire and the North East have indicated support to bring back control. In total, areas with a population of almost 28 million are actively considering regaining powers, or have done so.

Tory PM Margaret Thatcher began the process for deregulating services in 1989, handing control in many areas to private operators. Matthew Topham, of Better Buses for West Yorkshire, said: “It’s clear from this poll the public want to see the end of Thatcher’s experiment with a Wild West free market. We’ve seen routes slashed while shareholders, often based overseas, rake in huge profits.”