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Bus deregulation in Great Britain
Bus deregulation in Great Britain involved the abolition of Road Service Licensing for bus services outside of Greater London. It began in 1980 with long-distance bus services and was extended to local bus services in 1986 under the Transport Act 1985. The abolition of Road Service Licensing removed the public sector's role in fare-setting, routes, and bus frequencies and returned those powers to bus operators.
The bus industry in Britain grew significantly after the First World War with many demobilised soldiers starting bus companies with new skills in motor engineering and driving acquired through their military service. Those bus services began to erode the railways' profits because they attracted passengers from railways, which led to the creation of the big four railway companies. The bus industry then began to consolidate and many were acquired by railway companies. The remaining independent operators, however, were holding the bus industry's profit margins down through running "pirate buses" which only operated during peak demand. Following the lobbying of parliament by the railway and bus industries, the Road Traffic Act 1930 established Traffic Commissioners who had the oversight of safety, as well as commercial regulation: the setting of fares, routes and timetables. Road Service Licensing allowed rival bus operators to object to the registration of new services if it encroached their market share, and to appeal licence applications in traffic courts adjudicated by area Traffic Commissioners.
The postwar Labour government had a policy of nationalising public transport and was in compulsory purchase negotiations with bus companies during the post-war period. Tilling Group entered state ownership in 1948, with Red and White following in 1950. Nationalisation of the bus industry was incomplete when the Conservatives won the 1951 General Election and the process was halted. Labour resumed nationalisation after it increased its majority in the 1966 general election. British Electric Traction pre-emptively sold its bus operations to the government in 1967. In 1969, those bus companies were consolidated in the National Bus Company in England and Wales, and the Scottish Bus Group in Scotland, answerable to the Scottish Secretary. Most bus services were in the hands of the state or run by municipal owned bus operators.
The Thatcher government commissioned a white paper into the bus industry, which resulted in the implementation of the Transport Act 1985 on 26 October 1986 and the deregulation of local bus services in Great Britain. Transport deregulation did not occur in Northern Ireland.
London has had a different regulatory regime from the rest of Britain since the establishment of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933. At its peak in the 1950s, the London Transport Executive owned a bus fleet of 8,000 buses, the largest in the world.
Ken Livingstone, leader of the Greater London Council in the early 1980s, adopted a policy of open hostility to the Westminster government. The government responded by abolishing the GLC in 1986 and its transport functions were transferred into London Regional Transport, branded as London Transport, which reported to the Secretary of State for Transport and not to any locally elected body. London Transport at the time still had crewed buses long after they were phased out in other cities and the losses incurred by London Transport meant that buyers for bus companies were unlikely to be found.
Although deregulation did not apply to London buses, in April 1989 it was split into 11 quasi-independent companies that were privatised in 1994/95. In London, details of routes, fares, and services levels were still specified by public bodies, with the right to run the services contracted to private companies on a tendered basis.
Bus patronage grew after the war as soldiers were de-mobilised and greater prosperity led to greater use of the bus. However, travel patterns began to change with the steady growth of car sales and other social changes such as the growth of television which reduced evening travel. Most large private bus companies in England included a core industrialised urban area which was profitable, and a rural expanse which either barely covered costs or lost money. These larger bus companies cross-subsidised their rural services with profits from their urban operations. Fares had largely remained unchanged since 1930 partially due to companies growing by acquisition – safe from the threat of new market entrants – but opportunities to improve profitability through consolidation were eventually exhausted.
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Bus deregulation in Great Britain
Bus deregulation in Great Britain involved the abolition of Road Service Licensing for bus services outside of Greater London. It began in 1980 with long-distance bus services and was extended to local bus services in 1986 under the Transport Act 1985. The abolition of Road Service Licensing removed the public sector's role in fare-setting, routes, and bus frequencies and returned those powers to bus operators.
The bus industry in Britain grew significantly after the First World War with many demobilised soldiers starting bus companies with new skills in motor engineering and driving acquired through their military service. Those bus services began to erode the railways' profits because they attracted passengers from railways, which led to the creation of the big four railway companies. The bus industry then began to consolidate and many were acquired by railway companies. The remaining independent operators, however, were holding the bus industry's profit margins down through running "pirate buses" which only operated during peak demand. Following the lobbying of parliament by the railway and bus industries, the Road Traffic Act 1930 established Traffic Commissioners who had the oversight of safety, as well as commercial regulation: the setting of fares, routes and timetables. Road Service Licensing allowed rival bus operators to object to the registration of new services if it encroached their market share, and to appeal licence applications in traffic courts adjudicated by area Traffic Commissioners.
The postwar Labour government had a policy of nationalising public transport and was in compulsory purchase negotiations with bus companies during the post-war period. Tilling Group entered state ownership in 1948, with Red and White following in 1950. Nationalisation of the bus industry was incomplete when the Conservatives won the 1951 General Election and the process was halted. Labour resumed nationalisation after it increased its majority in the 1966 general election. British Electric Traction pre-emptively sold its bus operations to the government in 1967. In 1969, those bus companies were consolidated in the National Bus Company in England and Wales, and the Scottish Bus Group in Scotland, answerable to the Scottish Secretary. Most bus services were in the hands of the state or run by municipal owned bus operators.
The Thatcher government commissioned a white paper into the bus industry, which resulted in the implementation of the Transport Act 1985 on 26 October 1986 and the deregulation of local bus services in Great Britain. Transport deregulation did not occur in Northern Ireland.
London has had a different regulatory regime from the rest of Britain since the establishment of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933. At its peak in the 1950s, the London Transport Executive owned a bus fleet of 8,000 buses, the largest in the world.
Ken Livingstone, leader of the Greater London Council in the early 1980s, adopted a policy of open hostility to the Westminster government. The government responded by abolishing the GLC in 1986 and its transport functions were transferred into London Regional Transport, branded as London Transport, which reported to the Secretary of State for Transport and not to any locally elected body. London Transport at the time still had crewed buses long after they were phased out in other cities and the losses incurred by London Transport meant that buyers for bus companies were unlikely to be found.
Although deregulation did not apply to London buses, in April 1989 it was split into 11 quasi-independent companies that were privatised in 1994/95. In London, details of routes, fares, and services levels were still specified by public bodies, with the right to run the services contracted to private companies on a tendered basis.
Bus patronage grew after the war as soldiers were de-mobilised and greater prosperity led to greater use of the bus. However, travel patterns began to change with the steady growth of car sales and other social changes such as the growth of television which reduced evening travel. Most large private bus companies in England included a core industrialised urban area which was profitable, and a rural expanse which either barely covered costs or lost money. These larger bus companies cross-subsidised their rural services with profits from their urban operations. Fares had largely remained unchanged since 1930 partially due to companies growing by acquisition – safe from the threat of new market entrants – but opportunities to improve profitability through consolidation were eventually exhausted.