Tyne and Wear deregulation U-turn angers bus firms
Stagecoach threatens legal action as chairman says he would rather drink poison than accept quality contract scheme
Tyne and Wear has voted to press ahead with reforms that will mean bus services outside London being taken back under public control for the first time since privatisation.
After a long consultation and more than a year of debate with bus operators, which are fiercely opposed to the moves, the regional authority will counter the deregulation brought in by the Thatcher government in the 1980s, and franchise services while setting routes, timetables and fares.
Source: Guardian Transport
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/21/tyne-wear-deregulation-bus