Campaign for public to claim bus control

Campaign group We Own It is calling on MPs to ‘take control of our buses’ by opposing the government ban on new public bus companies.

The group has called on bus passengers to take 'bus selfies' and explain why they want public ownership to be an option for local authorities.

Recent polls emphasised that 57 per cent of the British public think local authorities should be allowed to set up new public bus companies, with only 22 per cent opposing the notion.

Cat Hobbs, director of We Own It, said: “It's absurd that after 30 years of the failures of private bus companies, the Government is ruling out new public ownership of buses. It's time to take control of our buses and run them for people not profit.”

Public transport was first deregulated with the introduction of the Transport Act in 1985. Since then, fares in England (outside London) rose by 35 per cent above inflation. We Own It research shows that public ownership of buses would save £506 million a year that could be reinvested in better services and lower fares.

There are 12 publicly owned municipal bus companies already in operation in Great Britain, running buses for people not profit. The local authorities operating this include: Blackpool, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Dumfires and Galloway, Halton, Ipswich, Newport, Nottingham, Reading, Rossendale, Swindon and Warrington.