Bus franchising consultation: lessons from Greater Manchester

When Stagecoach and Rotala challenged Greater Manchester’s bus franchising decision in 2022, the courts found that the consultation had been done properly, even after it was re-run during the pandemic. The judgment is now the leading authority on what lawful franchising consultation looks like. With several other combined authorities now following the same path, the lessons from that case matter more than ever.

What did the courts decide about the Greater Manchester consultation?

In 2022, two bus operators challenged Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)’s decision to introduce bus franchising. Both lost. Stagecoach Manchester’s challenge was dismissed by the High Court. Rotala plc appealed to the Court of Appeal, which dismissed that appeal unanimously in Rotala plc v GMCA [2022] EWCA Civ 1048.

The central question was whether GMCA had followed the mandatory statutory process under sections 123B to 123G of the Transport Act 2000. That process requires four steps to be completed before any franchising scheme can be made: a full assessment, an independent audit, a public consultation, and a documented decision.

The court confirmed that all four steps had been carried out lawfully. Crucially, the original consultation had been disrupted by COVID-19, and GMCA had re-run it. The court accepted this, noting that GMCA had commissioned a specific Covid impact report to explain its approach. The decision to proceed was described as plainly reasonable.

That acceptance came with a condition. It was not enough that GMCA had simply noted the pandemic and pressed on. The authority had documented its reasoning explicitly. Authorities that adjust their process without a clear written justification should not expect the same outcome.

What does a lawful bus franchising consultation require?

Bus franchising consultation is not simply a matter of asking people what they think. It must meet the Gunning principles, the legal test for fair public consultation in the UK. In practice, four things matter most for a franchising authority:

• Timing. Consultation must happen before the decision is made, not after it. A consultation that presents franchising as a settled outcome will not survive legal challenge.
• Sufficient information. Consultees must be given enough information to respond meaningfully. That includes the key findings of the assessment and the options that were considered.
• Genuine engagement. The authority must approach responses with an open mind. If it has already reached a firm view, the consultation process is not lawful.
• Conscientious consideration. The decision-maker must genuinely take responses into account before reaching a final decision. A summary that notes responses without engaging with them will not satisfy this requirement.

The audit stage reinforces the consultation. The court in Rotala emphasised that the independent auditor must verify the quality of the data and analysis behind the assessment, not simply confirm that a document exists. If the modelling is opaque or based on outdated figures, the whole process is weakened.

How has the franchising landscape changed since 2022?

The Greater Manchester case remains the leading judicial authority, but the context around it has shifted considerably.

When GMCA ran its consultation in 2020 and 2021, franchising was a novel and contested step. Only Greater Manchester had attempted it outside London. Operators challenged it in court partly because they believed it could be stopped. It could not, and it was not.

Since then, three further combined authorities have committed to franchising: Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. Each has had to run its own statutory consultation process. Each faces the same legal test. The Bus Services Act 2025 has since extended franchising powers and made the process easier to initiate. The Department for Transport’s Bus Franchising Manual, published in January 2026, provides practical guidance on running each stage of the process, including the consultation.

What has not changed is the Gunning test. A well-supported policy reform can still produce a legally flawed consultation. The fact that franchising is now mainstream makes careful process design more important, not less. More schemes means more opportunities for challenge.

What should transport authorities do now?

The consultation process cannot be designed in a hurry. Each of the combined authorities now pursuing franchising has had to work through the same statutory stages that GMCA completed, and each has found that genuine consultation takes considerable time to plan and run properly. Authorities that treat consultation as the final step before announcement, rather than as the stage that shapes the decision, will not meet the legal test.

• Plan the consultation before the assessment is finalised. If consultees are presented with a completed assessment as a fait accompli, the process will not meet the Gunning test. The consultation must be capable of influencing the outcome.
• Commission independent legal review of the consultation design. The independence and rigour of both the audit and the consultation are conditions of the scheme’s lawfulness, not optional additions.
• Document every significant decision. GMCA’s justification for re-running its consultation depended on a specific impact report. Unexplained departures from standard practice will not receive the same judicial deference.

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How tCI Can Help

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Whether you’re preparing for a high stakes service change or building defensible evidence for complex decisions, we can help.

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