Back to the Future

Who now supports the Conservative view that privatisation of essential services was the way
forward? Rail services are coming back into an integrated service; many ideas are being discussed to
stop private companies profiting from our water supply and bus services in Wirral and across the
Liverpool City Region will soon return to local control.

The new franchise system will start in Wirral on October 25th with a company ‘Go Ahead’ being paid
to operate the new fleet of buses, and the required standards being clearly set out. Routes and the
frequency of services will be decided by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Their plans
show more frequent services will be provided with a few new routes. Profitable routes will subsidise
those that are needed to provide an effective service to all communities.

Lib Dems strongly support these changes. However, we will be seeking to ensure the following going
forward:
● There must be a simple system for residents to feed back comments on the services,
including punctuality and the way the buses are driven.
● Once the new routes and timetables have had time to settle in, there needs to be wideranging discussion about whether these changes are best serving community needs.
● The Merseytravel App should be improved by giving real-time information about each
service. More people will use buses if they don’t have to wait at bus stops hoping a service
may turn up.

Image credit: Merseytravel