Cahm – HAVE THE BUSES CAUGHT UP 1990

Description

The 1990 National Consumer Council/BusWatch review evaluates passenger information after the 1985 Transport Act deregulated UK local buses. Deregulation removed route licensing, introduced competitive tendering and privatization, producing instability, ownership change and some local monopolies. Competition, procedural delays and anti-competitive concerns discouraged operators from coordinating timetables or sharing rival information. Financial pressures and falling patronage led operators to cut publicity, while unreliable schedules and congestion eroded confidence. A survey found mixed local authority responses: 23 produce comprehensive area information, many offer partial publicity, and formats and distribution vary; about half of stops now display timetables (up from a third in 1985) and most buses show route and destination, but many displays are incomplete, one in five timetables may be outdated or hard to read, intermediate and rural stops are poorly covered, and publicity of changes is limited. The report recommends clarifying competition rules to permit joint timetables, making and funding local authorities responsible for comprehensive current information, encouraging operator publicity investment, and considering route-management to reduce disruptive change; Brighton, Durham and Warrington are cited as good-practice examples.