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Jersey model of bus franchising shared by HCT Group

As the debate around the forthcoming Buses Bill intensifies, HCT Group has published a report that sets out the practical steps taken by the States of Jersey as they franchised their bus service.

The report, entitled 'Practical Bus Franchising - The Jersey Model' describes step-by-step how Jersey used a version of bus franchising to reach their strategic goals of increased ridership, lower costs, modal shift, innovation and partnership-working with their operator.

The publication has been developed through detailed interviews with the people involved in the franchising process, who shared their perspective as Commissioners. This provided a window into the objectives, reasoning and decision making at the States of Jersey – as well as a full picture of the steps they took to ensure success.

John Rogers, Chief Officer, Department for Infrastructure at the States of Jersey, said "We developed an approach that enabled us to really meet the needs of Jersey and are proud of what we have achieved. We are happy to share what we have learned with commissioners in the UK and have supported HCT Group to tell our story."

Jersey has seen impressive results from its franchising process. There has been an increase in ridership of 32% since 2013 – when HCT Group took over the service under its LibertyBus brand. There has also been an increase in customer satisfaction and the development of a real partnership between the States and their operator.

Dai Powell, Chief Executive of HCT Group, said "It's no secret that we believe franchising has much to offer commissioners, the travelling public and operators themselves. It is partly our experience in Jersey that leads us to this position.

We have published the details of Jersey’s method not because we think it is a 'one size fits all' solution, but because we believe that it’s a useful addition to the thinking currently underway at Authorities who are considering the implications of the Buses Bill – we hope it helps."