In the buses focus review 2008 the question was posed: 'At the end of 2009, how many of the 13 [local authority bus companies] will still be in public ownership?' The answer, we now know, is just 11, with Plymouth Citybus sold to Go-Ahead and Islwyn in the final stages of sale to Stagecoach.rnWhere in the 1960s it would have been impossible to list the remaining council-owned bus fleets in a single sentence (there were over 90 then), now it is much easier. At the time of writing - always a sensible proviso in this situation - they were, from the largest to the smallest: Lothian, Nottingham, Cardiff, Blackpool, Reading, Warrington, Thamesdown, Rossendale, Ipswich, Newport and Halton. And of these, Rossendale Council considered selling its bus company but decided against it, and Ipswich is in discussion with Go-Ahead about selling a minority stake.
展开▼
