There's No Easy Route to the Answer ; Thursday Marks the 20th Anniversary of the Deregulation of Bus Services. For Some It Brought More Cost Effective Bus Services. For Others It has Turned Passengers Away in Droves. As the Government Contemplates Changing the Rules Again, the Journal Asks What It Could Mean for the Future of Public Transport, Road Congestion and the North-East Economy.

Summary

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AT the time, it was the most innocuous speech of the Labour Party conference, but Douglas Alexander's address in Manchester last month may well have set in motion a revolution for Britain's bus network.

In just two sentences, the Transport Secretary hinted that the main conurbations outside London - Tyne and Wear, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South and West Yorkshire and the West Midlands - could be given powers similar to the Greater London Authority (GLA).

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There's No Easy Route to the Answer ; Thursday Marks the 20th Anniversary of the Deregulation of Bus Services. For Some It Brought More Cost Effective Bus Services. For Others It has Turned Passengers Away in Droves. As the Government Contemplates Changing the Rules Again, the Journal Asks What It Could Mean for the Future of Public Transport, Road Congestion and the North-East Economy.

"In too many of our communities we have seen a free-for-all that has left the needs of the public behind," he said. "So to ensure the private sector delivers the bus services our communities demand, I will act to empower local communities."

He was, of course, responding to growi...

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