A landmark decision in Greater Manchester will be providing hope for the future of the Liverpool City Region's bus services.
Last week a judge ruled in favour of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham's plans to bring his region's buses back under public control. This followed a judicial review that was brought by bus operators Stagecoach and Rotala, who claimed the process taken by Mr Burnham to move towards a new franchising model was 'irrational' and 'unlawful.'
But the judge ruled against the operators, meaning Mr Burnham and his fellow combined authority leaders are now free to push forward with their plans to bring buses back under public control. And already the potential advantages of that move are being outlined.
