Devolution to combined authority level is creating better conditions in which bus services can thrive, according to the former Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Dr Nik Johnson initiated bus franchising in Cambridgeshire shortly before his term as Mayor ended in May, following his decision not to seek re-election.
He also launched the Tiger Pass scheme in which under-25s can travel for ÂŁ1 in the county.
When asked if national government should be the driver of such a scheme, he says: “One of the interesting things that came out of devolution was the bus network was something that people were seen to be able to deliver through the metro mayor network, so I think the mayors are the best people to deliver it.”
Councillor Anna Smith, who was Mr Johnson’s Transport Lead and Deputy until she lost out in the mayoral election to Paul Bristow, says: “At the moment there are powers that a combined authority has that no other transport authority has.
“If you are not in control of your network it’s an incredibly reactive thing to be doing.
“You’re filling in gaps, responding to what bus companies may or may not want to do. You don’t control the network, you can’t think strategically, set fares or do your own through ticketing scheme. What franchising does is allow you to do all those things.
“I think you can do that much more effectively in a larger area. While I can see that a big city could do that if it had the right powers, the councils that we currently have would have been too small in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to do that.”
