Labour announce they’ll break “the stranglehold” big private bus operators have over services

Labour have announced that they would stop five companies from dominating the bus service market, by making it easier for not-for-profit operators to run services.

At the moment, Stagecoach, Arriva, Go-Ahead, First Group and National Express control 72% of local bus services.

It’s said, Labour are looking at groups such as Hackney Community Transport – a social enterprise that provides transport to London and certain areas of Yorkshire. Founded in 1982, the company has no shareholders and looks to invest profits back into the company..

The 1985 Transport Act, implemented in 1986, meant that bus services were transferred from public to private ownership. Prior to this, public bodies owned a large portion of the country’s bus network.

This announcement from Labour comes after figures show that under the Coalition, 2,000 bus routes have seen a reduction in the frequency of the service or they’ve been scrapped altogether.  Meanwhile, fares have shot up by 25%, which is five times faster than wages.

Michael Dugher, the Shadow Transport Secretary, explained to The Independent the reasoning behind Labour’s approach to local transport:

“Like the energy market, the bus market is broken. Developing a thriving not-for-profit sector is one way Labour will rebalance our bus market. The significant development of not-for-profit model will help city and county regions break the stranglehold that the big private bus operators currently have.”

“There is a proud and growing British tradition of community transport in the UK. It is a sector that serves both rural and urban areas, often operating in areas the commercial operators have turned their back on. In government, Labour will ensure that communities cannot be held to ransom by operators threatening to pull buses and cut services.”