̶L̶o̶n̶d̶o̶n̶ Liverpool City Region Bus Tender Awards: Stagecoach And Go-Ahead Win Franchised Bus Contracts

It has been announced that Transport for London, ahem, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority website that Stagecoach has won the contract to operate the franchised bus network in St Helens, and Go-Ahead has won the contract to operate the franchised bus network in the Wirral.

A Comparative Analysis: Bus Franchising Legislation Across the UK

The landscape of public transport in Great Britain is undergoing its most significant structural shift since the mid-1980s. As of January 2026, the transition from a deregulated commercial market to a "franchised" model—where local authorities control routes, fares, and branding—has reached a critical turning point.

Note on Northern Ireland: It is important to distinguish Great Britain from the UK as a whole in this context. Northern Ireland never adopted the 1986 deregulation model; instead, it maintains a publicly owned system under Translink, meaning the current franchising reforms do not apply there.

Legislative Framework Comparison

The following table breaks down the primary acts and the legal hurdles required to implement franchising:

Greater Manchester Launches Final Phase of Bus Franchising, West Midlands Launch Consultation on Bus Franchising, and Silvertown Tunnel to Open on 7 April 2025

Volvo BZL Double-Deck For The Bee Network - Photo by TfGM

Firstly, Happy New Year 2025 to my readers! I hope we will progress positively in this new chapter.

On 5th January, Greater Manchester finally launched the final phase of bus franchising, which means that control of bus services has been fully regained by the transport authority, Transport for Greater Manchester, as part of the Bee Network brand.

The UK Government Launches Consultation to Give English Local Transport Authorities Control of Bus Services

As we are a couple of months into the new Government by the Labour Party administration. Their manifesto commitment is about improving bus services for England by giving powers back to the local authorities.

From UK Department for Transport press release

Transport Secretary sets the wheels in motion on "biggest overhaul to buses in a generation"

Go Ahead Group wins Dublin Bus contract but loses West Midlands Rail franchise

Go Ahead has won a contract from Ireland’s National Transport Authority (NTA) to operate 24 bus routes in Dublin but they lost the West Midlands rail franchise.

From National Transport Authority Ireland

Go-Ahead has been selected as the preferred bidder for the contract relating to the operation of 24 Public Service Obligation (PSO) bus routes in the Dublin metropolitan area. NTA has written to Go-Ahead to inform the company of the decision. Go-Ahead is expected to begin operating some of these routes by the end of November 2018 and all routes by February 2019.

Chief Executive of the National Transport Authority Anne Graham said:

Rail franchise bidders announced for West Coast Partnership and South Eastern

A short news update: the Department for Transport has announced the bidders for the West Coast Partnership and South Eastern rail franchises.

From Department for Transport

I am pleased to inform the House that we have today (22 June 2017) published the shortlists of companies that will bid for the new West Coast Partnership (WCP) franchise which will launch the first services on HS2, and the next South Eastern franchise.

The House will be aware passenger numbers have more than doubled since privatisation of the railways 20 years ago and our country’s railways need to adapt and change to be able to cope with this and future demands. This government is committed to revolutionising our railways through innovation and investment to transform passengers’ experiences and ensure our railways work for everyone.

Bus Services Act 2017 is now Royal Assent

The Bus Services Bill is now in force which will enable powers for local authorities in Britain to franchise bus services in their own area.

From Confederation of Passenger Transport UK

CPT has today welcomed Royal Assent of the Bus Services Act 2017 and has confirmed its on-going support for the new partnership measures that will see operators able to continue to operate in a commercial market thereby providing the best possible service to passengers. 

First and MTR wins South Western railway franchise

More bad news for Stagecoach!

Stagecoach have already lost London Bus routes 5, 15 and 115 to Go Ahead Blue Triangle and now they have lost the South West Trains franchise to First and MTR.

Shortlisted bidders for East Midlands Rail franchise

As we enter the month of March (2017) the Department for Transport has announced the shortlisted bidders for the East Midlands rail franchise.

From Department for Transport

The names of the 3 train operating companies in the running for the next East Midlands franchise competition were announced today (1 March 2017) by the Department for Transport.

After submitting an expression of interest, the following have been successfully shortlisted:

Abellio sells 40% of their Greater Anglia stake to Japanese based Mitsui

This is a follow up to my previous article titled ‘Abellio wins East Anglia railway franchise’.

Abellio has sold 40% of their Greater Anglia stake to Mitsui Group, which is one of the largest trading companies in Japan.

Looks like Network Rail is going to split

Looking at the recent news reports, it looks like the up-and-coming franchises will integrate rail infrastructure with the train companies; in short, privatising Network Rail.

From Department for Transport

30 years of Bus Deregulation in Britain

On 26^th October 1989, bus services around Britain were deregulated under the Transport Act 1985. In this article I will give you bit of history on how it all started and then progressed.

In short, deregulation means the government gives more powers to private bus companies to set up their own bus routes and fares - and compete against other bus companies for profits.

Abellio wins East Anglia railway franchise

Abellio wins the 9-year franchise to operate the East Anglia railways; their contract commences on October 2016 and runs until 2025.

Abellio is owned by Nederlandse Spoorwegen which is a state owned company in the Netherlands and run by the government. Despite Britain voting to leave the EU, no changes have been made to Britain’s railways.