WIREDGOV

The Competition Commission (CC) has yesterday published its final report into the local bus industry setting out comprehensive measures which will ensure that passengers benefit from greater competition.

Twenty-five years after bus services were deregulated in the UK (excluding London and Northern Ireland), the CC’s proposals to open up the market will represent the biggest change in the industry since that time. In its final report, the CC has confirmed that in many areas bus operators face little or no competition, leading to passengers facing less frequent services and, in some cases, higher fares than where there is some form of rivalry. The CC also states that the way some local authorities tender for supported services—necessary bus services which would not be provided without public support—can also restrict competition.

The CC has found that despite there being about 1,245 bus companies in England, Scotland and Wales carrying 2.9 billion passengers a year, the five largest operators (Arriva, FirstGroup, Go-Ahead, National Express and Stagecoach) carried 70 per cent of those passengers. The CC also found that head-to-head competition between operators is un-common and that—on average—the largest operator in an urban area runs 69 per cent of local bus services.

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