A new report into the United Kingdom’s bus industry says its privatisation three decades ago has proved a “masterclass in how not to run an essential public service”.
It called for the 1985 privatisation, instigated by then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, to be reversed.
Law professor and former United Nations Special Rapporteur for Poverty, Philip Alston said that since the reforms, the country had been left with an “unreliable, fragmented and dysfunctional” bus network.
“Bus operators have prioritised profits and dividends, extracting money from the system, and cut essential routes,” Professor Alston said.
Unlike in London, where bus travel lies under the aegis of Transport for London, across most of England bus services are run solely by private sector players.
“Deregulation has left England, Scotland, and Wales with a vital public service run almost entirely by the private sector, with no minimum service frequency standards, and no authority responsible for ensuring local buses meet residents’ needs,” Professor Alston said.
“Numerous reports from civil society and official institutions document a system that is broken and at odds with the UK’s own social and transportation objectives and climate change goals,” he said.
The Law professor added that for those dependent on bus services, deregulation had resulted in serious consequences such as shutting people out of work, education and healthcare.
“It is clear that bus privatisation and deregulation has completely failed, and this report should be a wake-up call for the Government,” he said
Professor Alston called for bus transport to be put back in the hands of public authorities.
London, 23 July 2021
