The Dragon Says: Local Bus Services Cannot be Left to Market Forces

Published on: 25 Nov, 2018
Updated on: 26 Nov, 2018

The Dragon’s stories on the “bus war” on some routes in the west of the town have attracted a lot of comment.

Some thought county and borough councils should sort it out. Others say that with deregulated services there is little, if anything, the councils can do.

The University of Surrey, whose award of a contract to Stagecoach, appears to have triggered the latest battle, seems to believe market forces or “healthy competition” alone will resolve the problem. They won’t.

Guildford Borough Council has long put forward “modal shift” as a central plank in their plan to tackle traffic congestion in the town as it faces an unprecedented level of development under the Local Plan.

And whatever one might think of modal shift or the Local Plan it seems inescapable logic that the more of us who walk, cycle or travel by bus, rather than use a car, the less the level of congestion should be.

But having some routes served by polluting, diesel-engined buses, running so frequently they have few passengers, while other areas have unreliable, infrequent services, if any, cannot be the answer.

If the Goliaths of the bus industry cannot be relied on to conduct themselves reasonably some kind of regulation is needed. It probably should be done at a local level. How can a council plan properly if it cannot control, to some extent, the transport services and infrastructure?

And how can smaller, local bus companies, however popular, however good their level of service, compete with huge companies who can afford to run services at a loss to squeeze out competitors?

It is not right and it is not fair but only central government can make the necessary changes. Let’s hope the message is being forcefully delivered up the political ladder.

See also: Stagecoach and Arriva’s Guildford ‘Bus War’ Leaves Safeguard Feeling The Pinch and Guildford Bus War – Reactions

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