The provisional decision on remedies for local bus service regulation published by the Competition Commission this month is a missed opportunity says Nick Maltby, partner, Bircham Dyson Bell LLP.
"The inquiries into local bus markets have been underway since early 2009 and the bus operators and transport authorities have spent millions arguing their cases, but when it comes down to it, the best the report can suggest is a code of conduct, improved ticketing schemes, better access to our bus stations, guidance on tendering best practice and better enforcement of competition law," explains Nick Maltby.
"I can't see how any of these things will to lead to a fundamental change in the way bus services are provided, lead to significant increase in ridership or justify the time spent on the inquiries. The industry is likely to continue to be dominated by a handful of big operators with it being left to LTAs to conclude partnerships as the main way of improving services.
"Having found that there were adverse effects on competition within the bus industry, the Commission had the opportunity to reshape provision most radically through extending franchising beyond London. It seems that between May and the publication of the recent decision, this opportunity has been abandoned.
"It costs the tax payer between £103 million and £148 million per annum to maintain the uncompetitive situation that exists in the bus industry. This is against a background of public subsidy to the bus industry through BSOG and tendered services of more than £1bn. It is difficult to see how any of these figures will come down given the revised proposal.
"At least the provisional decision now allows everyone in the industry to move on and focus on making what we already have better particularly through more and stronger partnerships. However, without a radical rethinking of how competition law works outside London it seems unlikely that people in the regions will come to enjoy the degree of integration and multi-modal smart ticketing that Londoners take for granted. This report insofar as it provides nothing radical is a missed opportunity."
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