Swindon Borough Council has agreed to sell its share of its bus services to a major commercial operator.
The decision to sell Thamesdown Transport Limited to the private company Go South Coast was taken to ensure it had a ‘sustainable future’, the council said.
The bus company has incurred losses over the past five years due to difficult trading conditions, despite continued financial support from the Council.
‘We were one of the few local authorities in the country to still own a local bus company, but the council is operating in a really challenging financial climate at the moment and we do not have the resources to continue to support Thamesdown Transport as we have been doing in recent years,’ said council leader Cllr David Renard.
‘We have had to change the way we provide services across the Council while balancing the ever increasing demand on adults’ and children’s services.’
Cllr Renard said he believed the deal was in the ‘best interests’ of bus users and would offer the ‘best long-term security’ for Thamesdown Transport’s employees.
Responding to the news, a spokesperson for the anti-privatisation campaigners We Own It said: 'It's a shame that one of the last public bus companies has been sold off.
'In the long run, passengers will lose out as private companies have to prioritise making a profit, not providing socially necessary services that help vulnerable people and support local economies.'
