Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram reveals which two bus companies will operate Liverpool city region’s first publicly controlled bus services since the 1980s. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has selected two bus operators to operate the first services under the new franchised network.
Described as “one of the biggest shifts in local transport policy in a generation”, bus services in the city region are to come back under public control for the first time since 1986 when they were deregulated by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government.
In 2023, Mayor Steve Rotheram took the decision to bring bus services in the region back into public control. This will mean the Combined Authority, rather than private operators, will be able to set routes, fares and timetables.
It becomes only the second area outside of London to take back control of its bus network. Following a competitive tender process, two operators have been appointed to operate the first locally controlled services:
- Stagecoach has been selected to operate the franchised bus network based in St Helens.
- Go-Ahead has been selected to operate the franchised bus network based in Wirral.
The first phase of bus franchising will begin in St Helens and Wirral in autumn 2026, before rolling out across the whole region by the end of 2027.
Mr Rotheram said: “For hundreds of thousands of people across our region, buses aren’t a ‘nice to have’ – they’re a lifeline. They’re how people get to work, to school, to hospital appointments, to see family and friends.
“For more than 40 years, buses have been run without proper accountability – services turning up late or not turning up at all, fares rising year after year, routes being cut with no thought for the communities left isolated as a result.
“That’s why we are taking back control. Franchising gives us the power to hold operators to account, to shape routes, fares and timetables around the needs of our area and its citizens.”
From day one of the new system, passengers in St Helens and Wirral will see immediate improvements designed to make the network more dependable and easy-to-use.
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This includes more frequent and later running buses on key routes alongside an increase in the number of weekend services.
In St Helens, a new express service to Liverpool John Lennon Airport will be launched, while in Wirral routes are being extended to provide better direct links to hospitals and rail stations.