News / Politics
An end to privatised bus network in Bristol?
Buses in Bristol could be brought back under public ownership if Labour’s Marvin Rees is elected as the city’s next mayor.
The policy is being floated at a meeting of councillors this weekend where they are expected to hammer out some of the terms of Rees’ manifesto for the May elections.
Rees is understood to be keen on the idea, according to the Western Daily Press. A spokesman for the candidate said: “Looking to run buses for the public good, not for private profit, is just one of many policies Marvin will be discussing with councillors this weekend.”
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Councillors will meet this weekend, a week after the party’s first day of campaigning, which made a stop at the Tobacco Factory, owned by incumbent mayor George Ferguson who also lives in a flat on the top floor.
Rees also marked 100 days until the election on Tuesday by launching his #tellmarvin campaign to encourage people to tell him one thing they love about Bristol and one thing they want changed.
Bringing buses back into public ownership could see the council ending the contracts with First Bus and Wessex for specific routes either immediately or when they come up for re-tendering.
A similar plan has been outlined by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for the train network in the whole of the UK.
Rees could also have the option of setting up a not-for-profit co-operative which would be the preferred contractor to run routes as they are taken back from the private firms.
Nottingham, Reading, Cardiff and a handful of other cities in the UK already have municipal bus companies running the majority of routes.
Bristol’s bus services were brought under public control after the Second World War, but were privatised again in the 1980s, with First Bus becoming the eventual owners of the Bristol Omnibus Company.
Read more: Who are the Bristol mayor candidates?