Liverpool City Region buses to be brought under public control with £86.3m funding

Buses in Liverpool City Region are being brought under public control in a move the Prime Minister hailed as “putting power in the hands of communities”.

On Monday (Sept 7), the Government said it will provide £86.3 million of funding until 2029 and a share of a £3 million pot to help mayors take control of their services.

The money will give Liverpool City Region’s combined authority more power over route planning, branding and fares as well as more frequent journeys and better connections for passengers, the Department for Transport (DfT) said.

Franchising will start in St Helens followed by the Wirral later this year and the rest of the city region in 2027, with a new British-built yellow bus fleet also being introduced.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “After four decades of deregulation, Mayor Steve Rotheram is getting back control of the Liverpool City Region’s buses, and we are backing him with the funding and powers needed to make it happen.

“This is what putting power in the hands of communities looks like and why I have established No 10 North.

“We are giving local leaders the levers they need to take back control of local services, shape their own future and bring back hope.”

Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram said bus deregulation had “failed communities like ours” for almost 40 years.

“Routes have been chopped and changed, fares have risen and local leaders have been left without the power to shape a service that millions of people rely on every year,” he said.

“For me, public transport is a public service,” the mayor added.

“It should be run in the interests of the people who use it, connecting communities with jobs, education and opportunity – not simply dictated by what makes the most commercial sense.

“That’s why we’re taking back control.

“It means we can decide where buses go, how often they run and what passengers pay and reinvest in a network that is more reliable, more affordable and better joined up.”

Local Transport Minister, Simon Lightwood, said: “This is a huge testament to Mayor Steve Rotheram’s determination to put buses back at the heart of the community – and to our No 10 North mission to put power back where it belongs: in local hands.”

More than 93 million bus journeys were taken in the Liverpool City Region last year, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).

It comes after No 10 North and the West Midlands Combined Authority joined forces last month to save bus services in private hands that were at risk of vanishing.

Backed by £11.5 million of new Government funding over the next three years, the deal announced in August will support the West Midlands to keep bus services running.

In the longer term, West Midlands intends to control bus services through franchising, like in London and Greater Manchester, paying contractors to run the services for them.

West Midlands is finalising the total cost of the deal and is expected to complete the transaction in the autumn.

In bids to help ease cost-of-living pressures, the Government has previously announced disabled bus pass holders will be able to travel for free at all hours from April next year and a £2 cap on single bus fares from January.

During his time as mayor of Greater Manchester, Mr Burnham brought local bus services under public control with the launch of the Bee Network in 2023.

The network became the first bus franchise in England outside London and introduced more routes and lower fares.

It appeared to contribute to a landslide election victory when he won a third term as mayor in 2024 with 63.4% of the vote.