Wirral's buses came under public control on 25 October 2026, as the Liverpool Echo reports; the Combined Authority's site blocks scripts and no BBC News report was found, so the Liverpool Echo settles it.
The Wirral market resolves on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority's own confirmation that franchised services in Wirral have begun. It resolves YES if those services are running on or before 31 October 2026 and NO if the first day falls on 1 November or later; if the authority has published nothing, BBC News and Liverpool Echo reports of the launch settle it.
We looked at every stage of bus franchising that an English mayoral authority has launched since 2023. For each we asked whether it started in the month the authority had named in public. There are four: three in Greater Manchester and now St Helens. Authorities that have decided to franchise but not yet launched are left out. All four started in the month named. The newest are shown first.