WYRE Forest Labour have called for public transport in the district to be renationalised in a bid to improve services.

Operator Diamond Bus Ltd is to face the Traffic Commissioner at a public inquiry ay Wyre Forest House in Finepoint Way, Kidderminster on June 21 over the safety of vehicles and its service reliability.

But Stephen Brown, of Wyre Forest Labour, said Worcestershire should follow the London model which has a local government body in charge of transport in the capital.

And he added Government cuts to Worcestershire County Council subsidies for transport had created problems elsewhere in the country.

Mr Brown said: “Frankly the only thing that will deliver better services is public transport being back in public hands and renationalised.

“London has TFL which is effectively statutory Mayoral democratic control of transport; so what’s good for London is good for the rest of the UK.

“We need to return to a proper democratic structure which runs local transport services for the benefit of our community.

“Any public inquiry is merely moving the deckchairs on the Titanic around.

“If Diamond lose their licence they’ll just be replaced by someone else equally inefficient because it’s the system at fault. A system that allows such mediocrity so long as operators make a profit is in their interest not ours.”

In the Shuttle last week, Wyre Forest MP Mark Garnier welcomed the inquiry and said he regularly received a string of complaints about Diamond Buses in the district.

A spokesman for Diamond said it would be inappropriate to comment as the hearing is pending.

*Meanwhile, Diamond have introduced a later Kidderminster number 10 service to serve commuters using Kidderminster train station at peak evening times.

It will depart the bus station at 18.35 and the town’s rail station at 18.39.

The Wyre Forest Diamond Bus Users Group said members had met with the operator requesting the service, which was brought in on Monday (June 4).