Buses were privatised and deregulated in 1986. Since then, communities and passengers have paid the price while shareholders have benefitted.  

Fares increased faster than inflation between 1987 and 2025, funding billions in dividend payments.  

Private operators focus on profitable routes, abandoning less profitable services. The result: over 3,300 routes have been cut or altered and bus vehicle kilometres have been reduced by 300 million since 2009/10. Whole communities have been left behind.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Alternatives already exist. Award-winning municipal bus companies operate across the UK, from Lothian Buses to Nottingham City Transport.

These are tried and tested models. Reinvesting profits back into the network, they have delivered high quality services and rising ridership numbers. They are also innovators: leading the transition to electric buses and are early adopters of free Wi-Fi on their networks.

Rolling out municipal or regional public bus companies across Britain can eliminate profits being extracted from the system, deliver comprehensive coverage of low-carbon transport and offer affordable fares.