Anna Mounteney - Statement to WECA Committee (31/01/25)
I’d like to take a moment, on behalf of Reclaim Our Buses, to thank you for your work as Mayor of the West of England Combined Authority (WECA). Your engagement with our campaign, your correspondence, and your respect over the past year have been greatly appreciated. However, the journey towards franchising our buses—the systematic reform this region desperately needs—remains unfinished.
Franchising offers a bold, transformative vision for public transport. It has been proven successful elsewhere, most notably in Greater Manchester with the Bee Network. There, franchising has enabled the region to integrate bus services with a unified ticketing system and capped fares, ensuring a consistent and reliable passenger experience. Under Andy Burnham’s leadership, Greater Manchester has faced—and overcome—significant opposition, including multiple legal challenges, to deliver a model that works for residents. The Bee Network is now not only functional but expanding, with over 50 new electric buses introduced, further bolstering its commitment to sustainability and accessibility
We have not seen similar ambition or progress here in the West of England. You’ve expressed doubts about the feasibility of franchising, citing exceptional circumstances in our region. Yet you have not published a detailed report explaining what these challenges are, nor exploring the options for overcoming them.
Your administration’s previous statements about the financial model for franchising have raised concerns. For instance, the repeated claim that Greater Manchester’s franchise relies on tram subsidies is inaccurate. Their business case was explicitly designed to function independently of cross-subsidies, relying instead on strategic, phased implementation and public consultation.
Additionally, the argument that establishing a Passenger Transport Executive (PTE) would be prohibitively expensive ignores alternative approaches, such as leveraging existing council staff alongside recruiting a senior manager with experience in managing a franchised system. This approach focuses on targeted leadership to ensure effective implementation without incurring excessive costs.
These issues undermine public understanding and risk stalling progress. The lack of ambition, slowness, and insufficient transparency and collaboration further compound these challenges. When can we expect the long-awaited franchising report, and how will WECA ensure that transparency, accuracy, and thorough investigation underpin this report and the advice given?
The West of England deserves better than piecemeal initiatives like the WestLink on-demand service or the Birthday Bus Pass. These schemes, while well-intentioned, fail to address the root issues of inequality and access. A fare cap, for instance, only benefits communities that already have reliable bus services—many in our region do not. Similarly, WestLink has fallen short of expectations, offering limited utility and accessibility.
We need a systematic overhaul of the network, franchising is the vehicle for that change.
At our recent event in Bristol, we launched the People's Passenger Public Transport Executive—a grassroots initiative designed to bridge the gap between decision-makers and the communities they serve. By engaging directly with passengers’, operators’, and transport staff’s needs and wants, we’ve gained invaluable insights into what the people of the West of England need from their transport system. We extend an open invitation to you, your officers, and UA leaders and councillors to collaborate with us. Together, we can shape a system built on lived experience rather than top-down consultancy.
This is a defining moment for the West of England. As Labour reaffirms its commitment to public transport reform nationally, we must ensure that our region is not left behind. We urge you to prioritise the franchising report and act swiftly, ensuring it’s published before the electoral pause in May. Public transport is not a political game—it is a vital service.
