No 10 North and the West Midlands Combined Authority have joined forces to save local bus services in private hands that were at risk of vanishing. The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said this was the first major milestone in his push to give communities more control over their services.
Burnham has claimed that the West Midlands bus deal will protect thousands of jobs after they were threatened after the parent company behind local operator National Express indicated it was leaving the market.
Speaking to reporters at Wolverhampton bus station, Burnham said that this was the biggest act of public control since he came into office - to protect the backbone of the public transport system across the West Midlands which serves millions of people.
In a video posted on X, the Labour leader said the move was the first major milestone in his mission to give communities more control over their own services.
Supported by £11.5 million of Government funding over the next three years, the deal will support the West Midlands to keep bus services running - protecting around 4,800 jobs and keeping up to 750 buses a day on the road. Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said that this funding will help protect thousands of jobs and support the regions move to franchising.
In the longer term, West Midlands intends to control bus services through franchising, like in London and Greater Manchester, paying contractors to run the services for them. West Midlands is finalising the total cost of the deal and is expected to complete the transaction in the autumn.