Demand they put public control on the agenda!

We're calling on the leaders of the West of England Combined Authority to put starting the formal process to bring buses into public control (bus franchising) at their meeting on March 17th.

The UK is the only place in Europe not to do bus franchising. The West of England is the only major UK city region NOT to be investigating bus franchising.

Franchising would put decisions about fares, routes, timetables, and standards back in your hands. For too long, buses have been in decline as private operators prioritise profits over people and planet.

We've heard that the leaders will meet before Friday the 10th to set the agenda. By filling the leaders' inboxes with emails demanding franchising is on the agenda, we'll make sure they have no choice but to discuss it next week.

Please email them now to ask that it's on the agenda!

Mayor Dan Norris

Mayor Marvin Rees

Cllr Toby Savage, Leader of South Gloucestershire Council

Cllr Kevin Guy, Leader of Bath and North East Somerset Council

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I’m writing to you as a local resident to ask you to put releasing a Notice of Intent to investigate bus franchising on the agenda at your March 17th Combined Authority meeting. I know you will meet together to decide the agenda this week, please ensure franchising is on there.
My daily life is hit by the crisis you’ve allowed to brew in our bus network. Areas of our region, like Winterbourne, St Werburghs in Bristol, and Larkhall in Bath, are becoming cut off from essential services and opportunities. Where buses do run, I can’t rely on them.
I know that bus franchising regulates the bus market to ensure it meets public needs. I also know it’s present in every other European Country. It’s supported by everyone from the Centre for Cities to the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England.
I saw last year that <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/forms/franchise-weca-bus-services-now">1700 people signed an open letter</a> asking you to support a move to bus franchising. At the time, I read that you believed bus franchising is “under ongoing review.”
In the last few weeks, I’ve read more in the <a href="https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/local-news/what-would-franchised-bus-service-8169751">Bristol Post</a> and <a href="https://thebristolcable.org/2023/02/taking-back-control-is-bus-franchising-route-out-bristol-public-transport-chaos/">Bristol Cable</a> about franchising. It turns out that to investigate bus franchising you have to do a very particular legal process. Why aren't you? 
Having seen the <a href="https://twitter.com/reclaimourbuses">Reclaim Our Buses</a> ‘thirty reasons to reclaim’ videos, I understand that the franchising assessment starts with a “Notice of Intent,” a formal letter that allows you to access the bus data you need to understand it.
Without that data, <a href="https://governance.southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk/documents/s10383/Approval%20to%20proceed%20with%20issuing%20the%20notice%20of%20intention%20to%20prepare%20an%20assessment%20of%20a%20proposed%20fran.pdf">you can’t be said to have considered franchising</a>. Why would you try to fix our buses with one hand tied behind your back?
I read last month, <a href="https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/transport-london-style-scheme-considered-26197319">Andy Street</a> followed his former Conservative colleague in <a href="https://cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk/what-we-deliver/transport/buses/bus-reform/">Cambridgeshire</a> by starting a bus franchising assessment. Mayors in Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, and Manchester have also done this. I’m concerned that our region will get left behind because we couldn’t even be bothered to look into whether bus franchising is right for us. Releasing a notice of intent won’t commit you to delivering franchising. It doesn’t even commit you to finishing the assessment. It just gives you the powers you need to look into it properly. 
Please take action: I can’t go on with a bad bus network anymore. If you want to read more, take a look at these briefings on <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oYzjVHRktOHPINV28-nfRHB9ORxa6oi2b5cnfZa40to/edit?usp=sharing">starting an investigation</a> and the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oPsYF19DasAoiu-NyefF8in3kGCmRZWpHu0eRGFaTaw/edit?usp=sharing">benefits of franchising</a>.

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