Open Letter to Dan Norris, Mayor of West of England Combined Authority
Dear Dan Norris,
We call on you to begin a formal investigation of bus franchising in the West of England.
Reliable bus services are essential for people to get to work and to job interviews, to visit family, go shopping, get to school and healthcare appointments and more. They are one of the core requirements of a modern economy.
Franchising of buses, or public control, would give the West of England Combined Authority the powers to run the bus network for the benefit of local residents. These powers would enable:
Fully integrated tickets across all providers
Allowing cross-subsidy of socially essential routes by main trunk routes
Contracts which lead to greater integration with other types of travel
Farebox income in public hands
Enforcement of minimum standards including employment standards
Labour Mayors in Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, the North East, North Yorkshire, and the West Midlands are all doing franchising. There is no excuse for our region getting left behind.
To enable franchising, we would support the West of England Combined Authority to have precepting powers (the way the police and crime commissioner can raise funds as an add on to council tax), which would provide stable funding for key bus services without affecting other essential local government budgets.
Do not wait until after the general election to access the essential facts to make an informed decision — which is what the formal investigation of franchising provides.
[Update note: since we started this open letter, a General Election has now been called. Dan Norris is standing as the Labour candidate for North East Somerset and Hanham, contesting the seat currently held by Jacob Rees-Mogg. He intends to continue his role as WECA Mayor alongside his MP role if he is successful.]
The open letter has now been published and is not longer open to signatures. It had press coverage in the lead up to the general election here: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/cross-party-support-letter-calling-9369558
Signed by,
Emilia Melville, Reclaim our Buses - Campaigner
Rob Bryher, Bristol City Council - Councillor for St George West
Isobel Russell, UoB Students Union - Student Living Officer
Robbie Gillett, Adblock Bristol - Co-founder
Sarah Cemlyn, Extinction Rebellion Rebel Elders - Core Organiser
Cllr Sam Ross, Bath and North East Somerset Council - Ward Councillor for Clutton and Farmborough
Cllr Saskia Heijtjes, Bath and North East Somerset Council - Ward Councillor for Lambridge
Cllr James Crawford, Bristol City Council - Bishopston and Ashley Ward
Ingrid Skeels, Room 13 Hareclive - Member of Room 13 collective and development worker
Alex Merron, City of Bristol College - Student Mentor
Ian Quaife, Bristol Older People's Forum - Engagement and Development Manager
Joanna Bushell - Social Practice Artist
Dexter Hill, Friends of the Earth - Youth Forum member
Eve Miller, Medact Bristol - Campaigner
Carla Denyer, The Green Party of England and Wales- MP Candidate for Bristol Central, Co-leader of the Green Party
Cllr Abi Finch, Bristol City Council - Councillor for St George Central Ward
Cllr Serena Ralston, Bristol City Council - Councillor for Clifton Down ward
Cara Lavan, Bristol City Council - Councillor for St George Central
Andrew Varney, Bristol City Council - Local Councillor, Brislington West
Dr Caroline Gooch, Bristol City Council - Councillor for Westbury-on-Trym & Henleaze ward
Dominic Tristram, The Green Party of England and Wales- MP Candidate for Bath
Shona Jemphrey, Bristol City Council, Councillor for Lawrence Hill ward
Martin Dimery, Green Party, Parliamentary candidate and Somerset councillor
Lorraine Francis, Cllr for Eastville and BristolNortheast candidate
Neil Norton, Social Democratic Party, Candidate for Bristol South
Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrats, Parliamentary Candidate for Bath
Alexandra Jenner-Fust, Green Party, Parliamentary Candidate for Thornbury and Yate
