I think it's a good thing that buses are put under public control as it means the public are the ones who say where services go and at the right frequencies. Instead of private companies who want to make a profit while cutting services to the bare bones and not caring that most passengers don't want a conga line of multi coloured buses on Gosforth High Street and want to go from suburb to suburb.
But I think we should be careful about getting into the trap of when buses are under public control it will magically fix the problems overnight. Because It won't. It needs time and cooperation to work.
RE: Reversing the decline in passenger numbers