STAGECOACH has criticised plans by Labour to give English city and county regions increased influence over bus services, deeming them "costly and unnecessary structural change" and saying they would lead to higher passenger and taxpayer costs.

As part of the discussion on English devolution, party leader Ed Miliband yesterday announced a manifesto commitment to let the regional and city authorities regulate services as is currently done in London. This would enable bus fares and routes to be set locally and combine them with other public transport links.

"For too long everyday working people have found their journey to work made harder and more expensive than it needs to be by a deregulated system that fails to serve the public interest," Mr Miliband said.

However, Britain's biggest bus operator strongly opposed the move as inappropriate.

The Perth-based group's chief executive, Martin Griffiths, said the plan "would land people in England's biggest city regions overnight with a tax bill running to hundreds of millions of pounds, as well as leading to higher bus fares".

He said bus operators already provide "extensive, integrated and high-quality bus networks, which are central to regional economies and local communities in England's biggest city regions".

Not only are city region fares considerably cheaper, he added, they also show higher customer-satisfaction levels than their London counterparts, with access to "frequent, integrated bus services and smart ticketing".

Stagecoach cited research showing passenger satisfaction in London was at 83 per cent against an average of 88 per cent outside of the UK's capital. Furthermore it said weekly bus travel is about 40 per cent cheaper in the city regions than in the capital.

"It is time politicians stopped peddling the myth that London is best and has a monopoly on good bus services," Mr Griffiths said.

Stagecoach also said London has enjoyed environmental ­advantages such as congestion charging and notably higher public funding per capita.

Mr Griffiths said Stagecoach was one of Britain's five biggest bus operators - along with First, Go Ahead, Arriva and National Express - who have poured £1.4 billion into their services outside London in the past five years, with his and other operators "already working on extensive plans to deliver better buses and stronger city regions".

In addition, he said that as well as offering better taxpayer value, the plans "will provide even better transport integration, more local political engagement and a greater voice for customers".

Necessary to this, he explained, is "supportive central and local government policies that make a practical difference for bus passengers".