(26 Apr 2017, 8:07 pm)Tamesider wrote Yes. It looks like the MEN were slightly wide of the mark as its approval by both Houses left Grayling's hands tied. Apparently, he had said that if he was Transport Secretary at the time the Bill was first mooted he would have put a stop to it.

The decision is just in time for the Mayoral Elections and it is significant that - publicly, at least - all the GM Candidates (even the Conservative and millionaire independant) have said they exercise the option to "control" Bus services in their region. That doesn't necessarily mean franchising, but whatever pitfalls an dangers lie ahead with such control, there is virtually nobody in GM who would claim De-reg has been a success. Certainly not amongst the county's hundreds of thousands of non-motorists.

As predicted, the Bill received Royal Assent and became an Act yesterday. However, Guidance notes won't be published until after the Election. Its not clear how much of a delay this will be in the grand scheme of things as presumably, the Mayor's intentions will still be worked on by TFGM (or GMCA) in advance of Public Consultation. If the intention is for Franchising, no one expects it to be implemented for at least 18 months - probably longer - anyway.