Bus Regulation: The Musical by Ellie Harrison is back by popular demand to coincide with Liverpool City Region’s ‘Moving Buses Forward’ public consultation this summer.
Inspired by the 1980s hit musical ‘Starlight Express’, Bus Regulation: The Musical features performers on roller skates to re-enact the history of public transport provision in the Merseyside region from the post-war period to the present day.
Beginning with the municipal ownership of buses in the 1960s, through the 1968 Transport Act which created the Merseyside PTE and the coordination of public transport across the whole region in the 1970s, Bus Regulation: The Musical takes you into the chaos caused by bus de-regulation in 1986, the numerous mergers & takeovers of the 1990s that followed, right up to the fragmented and expensive system we’re left with as a result. The Musical concludes with a celebration of Liverpool City Region’s proposals to re-regulate our region’s buses in order to create a world-class, fully-integrated and affordable public transport network fit for the 21st century.
Bus Regulation: The Musical (Merseyside) was developed with funding from Arts Council England and premiered at the Bluecoat in November 2022.
This new production at The Black-E is produced in collaboration with the Better Buses for Merseyside campaign to coincide this summer’s important public consultation, which closes on 3 August 2023.
It is funded by the Foundation for Integrated Transport, local UNISON North West branches and We Own It and features local roller skaters from Liverpool Roller Birds and Wirral Roller Derby.
The Merseyside Musical builds on the success of the Greater Manchester and Strathclyde Musicals, and is the final part of Harrison’s award-winning Trilogy exploring the relationship between public transport policy and population health in these three post-industrial city regions.
In March 2021, Greater Manchester became the first UK city region to commit to re-regulating its bus network since 1986. This summer’s important public consultation offers Liverpool City Region the opportunity to be the second.