This is the reason why we have the mayor. Will it be worth the wait?

WHEN Sir Richard Leese ran the city, the Manchester council leader would regularly remind Andy Burnham why the role of mayor was created.

- JOSEPH TIMAN

"The whole reason you exist is to do buses," he would often tell Mr Burnham.

This may have seemed like a joke, but there was some truth to it.

When council leaders in Greater Manchester negotiated the first devolution deal nearly a decade ago, gaining powers to take back control of buses was their biggest priority, while the then-Chancellor George Osborne wanted a mayor installed.

Local leaders like Sir Richard have been calling for buses to be 'reregulated' for years, arguing that services should be run as they are in London.

Instead, they were left to watch the bus network decline dramatically in the four decades since Margaret Thatcher allowed private companies to take over.

Six years after he became the first elected mayor of Greater Manchester, Mr Burnham is finally fulfilling what was seen by some as his primary purpose.

From tomorrow, bus franchising will begin - and the rest of the country will be watching closely as some regions are planning to follow suit.

The journey to get bus franchising to this point has been long. Mr Burnham has been criticised by some for not moving fast enough, but sources close to the mayor say he was legally obligated to consider all of the options on the table.

The alternative approach of 'enhanced partnerships' in which local leaders have an increased but limited influence over the bus network was discounted in 2021.

But a series of legal challenges from bus operators soon followed.