Deregulation day, 26th October 1986, marked the end, except in London, of quantity control of bus services in Great Britain. It also marked the beginning of a regime under which subsidies for bus services could normally be paid only to operators who had been awarded contracts on the basis of competitive tendering. This report deals insome detail with the effects of deregulation in Greater Manchester. Some of the main findings in the report are that there has been a substantial increase in the number of new operators with competition occurring in a number of locations. At deregulation vehicle mileage decreased by 17 per cent although it has since increased, mainly as a result of the introduction of some high frequency minibus services. The cost to the PTE (passenger transport executive) of providing socially necessary services has decreased. 51 M passenger journeys were lost in the first year though not all as a result of deregulation. Extra costs have been incurred, but again not all as a result of deregulation. There has been little change to ticketing. The facts as perceived by the laboratory and the passenger transport executive are presented in this report without attempting to draw conclusions on the efficacy of the act.
Abstract