Public takeover of National Express buses due to complete on 1 December

The public purchase of National Express's bus operations in and around Birmingham is expected to be completed on 1 December, councillors have been told.

The £24m deal, backed by the government and confirmed in August, will bring the majority of the area's bus services into public ownership under the combined authority led by the mayor, Richard Parker.

The timetable

Pete Bond, director of integrated network services at the regional transport authority, gave the update to the combined authority's local scrutiny committee on Monday.

He said consultation with the 4,863 staff who will transfer to the new publicly owned bus company had been completed. Their transfer is covered by the TUPE rules, which protect workers' terms and conditions when a business changes hands.

Mobico Group, the parent company of National Express, will first complete what it calls a "hive down", separating its existing local bus company into the new business, which is due to start operating on 1 November.

"Completion of the acquisition itself is scheduled for December 1 subject to all the conditions being met. Further updates will be provided," Mr Bond said.

He said the combined authority was completing the legal, contractual and financial preparations, and building the capability and governance it needs to oversee the company. A report to the combined authority's board next month will seek approval for those arrangements.

Why it happened

When the purchase was announced, Mr Parker said that not going ahead would have been "catastrophic" for the region, because National Express had a near-monopoly on local bus services, and that the move was essential to save thousands of jobs and hundreds of routes.

Mobico said selling the business took away the uncertainty created by the move to bus franchising, under which the combined authority will set routes, fares and timetables and contract operators to run them.

The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, called the deal "absolutely massive". He said bus services in private hands had been at risk of being lost, "so we've backed the mayor Richard Parker to take bold action to save them by bringing them immediately into public ownership".

The criticism

Birmingham's Conservatives have criticised the purchase, saying taxpayers now carry all the risk while National Express remains free to bid for contracts once franchising begins.

What it means for passengers

The immediate aim is continuity. The whole workforce transfers with the business, so the drivers, engineers and depot staff who run today's services will carry on doing so under public ownership.

The bigger changes are expected when franchising arrives and the combined authority takes control of how the whole network is planned. Supporters say public control will allow simpler fares and a network designed around passengers rather than profit, while critics warn that the public purse will have to cover any losses.