Andy Burnham moves to extend Manchester bus model across England
The new prime minister is taking the lessons of Greater Manchester's bus franchising national, backing public control of services in the West Midlands and reinstating a £2 fare cap, in what observers see as a blueprint for his wider governing approach.
The prime minister is moving quickly to apply the lessons of Manchester's bus reforms across England, backing public control of regional transport networks and framing the approach as a template for how his government intends to govern. Barely a month into his premiership, Andy Burnham has endorsed West Midlands mayor Richard Parker's decision to bring the region's main bus operation into public control, following the model pioneered in Greater Manchester.
The government has also announced it will reinstate a £2 national bus fare cap from January 2027 and expand free bus travel for disabled people to all hours of the day. Transport affordability is clearly part of Mr Burnham's cost of living programme, and the emphasis on public transport is being welcomed by Labour figures who argue that accessible buses reduce social exclusion, boost local economies, and deliver environmental benefits.
Yet buses may matter to Mr Burnham for another reason: they offer a blueprint for how he wants to govern. In an interview with the Times this week, the prime minister suggested that the prescription for services such as water, housing and energy is not yet clear, with the exception of buses. Public control, Mr Burnham reasons, gives government the power to make provision cheaper and more reliable, and to shape it around the public interest rather than private profit.
For buses, that means the government determining the shape of the network even where private companies continue to run the services. This is not a return to municipal ownership of the kind seen before deregulation in the 1980s. Instead, it is a franchising model in which the public sector sets routes, frequencies, and fares, while private operators bid to run specific contracts. The approach was first developed in Greater Manchester under Mr Burnham's leadership as mayor, and has since been credited with improving service reliability and passenger numbers in the region.
The decision to back Richard Parker's move in the West Midlands is significant because it extends the model beyond the North West. The West Midlands Combined Authority has been working on plans to bring buses under public control for some time, and the prime minister's endorsement signals that Westminster will not stand in the way of metro mayors seeking similar powers. Transport experts have noted that the franchising model requires legislative support and funding, and the government's willingness to provide both is being read as a sign of intent.
The £2 fare cap, which was originally introduced as a temporary measure during the cost of living crisis, has been widely used across England. Its reinstatement from January 2027 will be welcomed by passengers and campaigners who have argued that high fares are a barrier to work, education, and healthcare. The expansion of free travel for disabled people to all hours addresses a long-standing complaint that existing concessions were too restrictive, particularly for those who need to travel outside peak times.
Observers note that the bus policy is being presented as part of a broader philosophy of rebuilding state capacity. Mr Burnham has spoken about the need for government to be able to deliver services effectively, rather than simply outsourcing them and hoping for the best. The bus franchising model is seen as a test case for this approach, and its success or failure could shape the government's strategy for other sectors such as water and energy, where questions of public ownership and regulation remain unresolved.
The prime minister's allies point out that the bus reforms are popular with the public, which gives the government political cover to pursue similar interventions elsewhere. Critics, however, warn that public control does not automatically guarantee better outcomes, and that the private sector can still play a valuable role in innovation and efficiency. The debate over how far the state should go in shaping essential services is likely to intensify as the government sets out its wider programme in the coming months.
For now, the focus is on delivery. The West Midlands franchising process will take time to implement, and the fare cap will not take effect until 2027. But the direction of travel is clear. Mr Burnham is using his experience in Manchester to reshape national policy, and buses are the first visible sign of a governing philosophy that could extend far beyond transport.
