From “We Hold Nothing” to Internal Emails: What My Bus Safety FOI Campaign Is Starting to Reveal

Over the past few months I’ve been running a national Freedom of Information campaign into bus safety governance, transparency and data across England.

The goal is simple: to understand who is responsible for bus passenger safety oversight — and whether the public can see how that responsibility is being exercised.

This week marked a major turning point.

For the first time, we’ve received significant internal documents from a Combined Authority about bus safety transparency and the decision-making behind it.

And what they show is important.

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The first major disclosure

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now released internal documents relating to the Bee Network and the publication of bus safety data.

These include:

• Internal emails about handling Freedom of Information requests

• A formal public interest test weighing transparency against commercial risk

• Governance documents about transport oversight

• Committee terms of reference showing how safety and performance are monitored

This is the first time the campaign has moved beyond delays, refusals and “we hold nothing” responses into real internal decision-making material.

And the content is revealing.

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Operators were consulted before information was released

One of the most striking findings is that bus operators were consulted before the authority responded to an FOI request.

Internal correspondence shows operators were asked whether they had concerns about the release of information relating to bus safety transparency.

That alone raises important questions about how public information is handled when it intersects with commercial interests.

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Commercial sensitivity vs public safety transparency

The released documents also include a Public Interest Test — the formal process used when deciding whether information should be withheld.

The factors considered in favour of transparency included:

• Promoting accountability and openness

• Helping the public understand decisions

• Bringing information affecting public safety into the public domain

However, disclosure was initially resisted due to concerns including:

• Commercial sensitivity

• Market perception of operators

• Potential impact on relationships and negotiations

In simple terms, the authority formally weighed public safety transparency against commercial risk.

That balancing act sits right at the heart of this campaign.

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A growing national contrast

At the same time as this disclosure, responses from other councils have told a very different story.

Some local authorities have said they hold:

• No bus safety governance documents

• No safety data

• No committee discussions about bus safety

Yet in Greater Manchester, governance structures clearly exist that:

• Monitor transport network performance

• Hold operators and TfGM to account

• Oversee road safety policy

• Receive transport performance information

This growing contrast between regions is becoming one of the most important findings of the campaign.

Why do governance arrangements appear so different depending on where you live?

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Why this matters

Bus services are a public service used by millions of people every day.

Passengers assume:

• Someone is monitoring safety

• Someone is reviewing incidents and trends

• Someone is accountable

This campaign is asking a simple question:

Can the public see how that oversight works?

The early evidence suggests the answer varies widely across the country.

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What happens next

The campaign is continuing across multiple Combined Authorities and local transport authorities.

The next phase will focus on:

• Who made the decision not to publish safety data

• What governance bodies were involved

• How safety transparency is handled nationally

This work will ultimately feed into policy discussions, conference motions and national debate about bus safety governance and transparency.

Because public transport should be accountable to the public.

More updates soon.