Don’t rush in and get it wrong

The government is planning to take some big decisions about buses in a very short space of time. Ben Colson urges ministers to think carefully before taking action

Bus congestion caused by new UK North services on the streets of Manchester last year. Was unregulated on-road competition to blame for this or the city council’s onslaught against bus access to the city centre?

Bus congestion caused by new UK North services on the streets of Manchester last year. Was unregulated on-road competition to blame for this or the city council’s onslaught against bus access to the city centre?

Have you heard the latest industry joke - “what do UK North and ‘Putting Passengers First’ have in common?” The answer, actually, is quite a lot. UK North, ran the case made for its demise on the front page of the last issue of Transit, had neither innovated nor brought new quality standards to the streets of Manchester. According to the unnamed senior industry source “they never brought anything new to the market...and never discovered a niche for...