Deregulation of local bus services in Great Britain: an introductory review

The major impacts of the deregulation of local bus services in Britain under the Transport Act 1985 are reviewed, identifying issues to be examined further by contributors in a series of papers in this journal. Costs per bus‐kilometre have fallen very sharply. This is primarily due to increased labour productivity through reductions in engineering and management staff. Ridership has also fallen while bus‐kilometres run have increased, resulting in a sharp drop in average load carried. The major change in type of service is in the use of minibuses. Little impact has been observed of other types of service innovation. Much competition has taken the form of expanding bus‐kilometres run, rather than in price—in contrast to the express coach market. Public expenditure has fallen substantially, but the operating industry has only remained (marginally) profitable. Investment in new vehicles has been low, and the fleet is ageing. Safety levels show no statistically significant change. Parallels may be drawn with other countries. Some aspects of British experience may be transferable, but direct imitation is both unlikely and undesirable. Increased interest in the role public transport can play within Britain could benefit buses substantially, but a marked improvement in service quality and the image of the industry will be necessary.