The Latest Breaking News from Franchising

The West of England Metro Mayor says bus franchising is "under review", but this has now been thrown into doubt

A public consultation has been launched into bringing buses back into public control

Staff relations are at rock bottom, investment is shrinking and franchising has failed. But even so, passengers are trickling back. Can the network be revived?

Dozens of bus services across Greater Manchester are set to be cut in April, months before mayor Andy Burnham starts to take control of the network. But passengers say services are already poor with waits lasting more than two hours, while transport bosses warn that some uncertainty is 'inevitable' over…

A passengers' group says that a £4.2bn devolution deal for the region offers a chance to make the North East's bus services more affordable and less confusing

They say a franchised transport model would also help address the current driver shortage

Political and public pressure is growing on the West of England mayor to bring in franchising to solve the bus crisis

A bus franchising deal would see greater public control over bus services in the region

Tasnim and Suhail Rehman own ‘Home Instead,’ a company which specialises in caring for older people in South Ayrshire and Kilmarnock.