Tenders for first three West Midlands bus
franchises to be published later today
Mayor will today
(17 August) officially invite bus companies
to submit bids to run
the first publicly-owned bus services on the
region's roads in more than 40 years.
The invitation is a major
milestone for the Mayor's flagship policy to
bring buses back under public control so that
routes, timetables and fares can be set by
the politically accountable Mayor and West
Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) instead of
private operators.
The first wave of franchised contracts covering
Coventry, North Birmingham and Walsall will be awarded early
next year, with services launching in October 2027.
The franchising model, which is already used in London and
Manchester, will replace
the region's existing deregulated private
operator-led system which relies on
huge taxpayer subsidies to keep more
buses on the road and fares lower than they would
be if left to market forces.
Under the forthcoming franchised network the WMCA will directly
control bus services and pay a contractor to run them. Operators
will be expected to run reliable and efficient services.
The WMCA is also busy buying a fleet of buses and
depots to level the playing field for
potential contractors by making it easier for
smaller or out-of-region operators to bid for
contracts.
The Mayor said: This is a decisive step
towards fixing our bus network which for too long
has served private interests over passengers. We are
designing our network around the people who rely on it every day
to make it more
reliable and raise standards of
service.
My message to bus operators, big or small, is simple compete
for these contracts and help us
build a world-class public transport network
we can all be proud of.
Since the Covid pandemic bus services in the West Midlands
have become increasingly reliant on public subsidy.
This includes the government's single-fare cap
which is due to be reduced from £3 to £2 in January 2027
and on more than £50m a year WMCA
funding, without which operators have warned
half of all existing services would be at
risk.
Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which is part of the
WMCA, has further supported bus services
through investment in infrastructure such a bus stations,
electric vehicles, bus priority
routes and the award winning Your Bussing
It marketing campaign. This offered free
try-before-you-buy tickets and passes to key groups
including students, families, NHS workers and
large employers to pass on to staff.
The Mayor has made taking public control of buses
a key priority and took the decision
to press ahead with it in May 2025. Since
then, officials have been speaking to the industry and
designing the future network ready to go to
market.
The franchises will roll out as follows:
- October 2027 Coventry, North Birmingham, Walsall
- 2028 Dudley, Sandwell and Wolverhampton
- 2029 Solihull and South Birmingham
An extensive consultation last year found 75% of
the residents and organisations who expressed a preference
were in support of franchising. This included a
majority of bus operators and local councils.
The first contracts will closely mirror the current bus
network to build a stable foundation on which to
deliver further improvements over time.
