TRANSPORT chiefs looking to take control of North East bus routes have welcomed a Competition Commission report into dodgy practices.

The Tyne and Wear integrated transport authority is looking to introduce “quality contracts” which would effectively end 25 years of bus deregulation and let councils take over.

Their hand, councillors say, has been strengthened by the final Commission report which says passengers have lost out as a result of bus companies dividing up markets between them. The Commission has already produced evidence suggesting inappropriate actions by bus firms Go North East and Arriva in the region.

They were said to have discussed certain routes, avoiding direct competition to the disbenefit of passengers, including on Arriva’s Ashington to Newcastle run, and Go North East’s Hexham to Newcastle service.

Jeremy Peat, chairman of the local bus market investigation group, said: “We have seen direct evidence in one case of operators in the North East of England seeking to avoid competition with each other in order to protect their own ‘territories’.”

The Commission added it is not against “franchising if others such as local transport authorities decide to introduce it for their own good reasons”.

Its recommendations include introducing tickets to be used on any bus, banning frequent changes to bus time tabling and making it easier for new firms to enter the market.

Last night David Wood, chairman of the Integrated Transport Authority, said: “This final report reflects the Commission’s specific investigation into the North East bus market published in October which found a failure of the bus market here.

“It makes clear that there is no real competition and little benefit to the passenger from the way our local buses are run.

“This is one of the reasons we are examining the respective merits of a quality contracts scheme and a voluntary partnership as a way to give the passenger and the taxpayer better value from bus services.” Regional bus operators have hit out at quality contract plans, which would see councillors pick the only operators allowed to run busses in Tyneside.

Peter Huntley, managing director of Go North East said: “We welcome many of the Competition Commission’s recommendations and are particularly supportive of the recommendation for multi-operator tickets, something that we already have in Tyne and Wear.

“We therefore cannot understand the Integrated Transport Authority’s move to try to put buses back into political control which is neither needed nor desirable – particularly when 92% of our customers are saying they are satisfied with the service we provide.”

An Arriva spokesman said: “We note that the Competition Commission has said it is not recommending franchising.

“We believe working in partnership with transport authorities like Nexus is the best way to provide the best services for passengers and the best value for local government budgets and the taxpayer.“