Liverpool City Region Metro double-decker bus on route 19 to Kirkby at Queen Square bus station, during the region-wide franchising rollout.

Liverpool City Region Metro-liveried double-decker buses at Queen Square bus station in central Liverpool, led by Stagecoach route 19 for Kirkby. The image captures the visible rollout of the region’s yellow, black and grey Metro identity as bus franchising begins to reshape public transport across Merseyside. Liverpool City Region launched its first publicly controlled franchised services in St Helens on 6 September 2026, returning local bus services to public control for the first time in around 40 years. The Combined Authority now determines routes, fares, timetables and service standards within franchised areas, while private operators run services under contract. Stagecoach won the first core St Helens franchise and Go-Ahead the Wirral network. More than 560 new low-emission buses, backed by investment of over £150 million, are being introduced alongside more than 100 publicly owned electric buses, all carrying the distinctive Metro branding. The transition is phased: St Helens launched first, Wirral follows, with Sefton due in July 2027 and Liverpool and Knowsley in September 2027, completing the city-region rollout by the end of 2027. Route 19 between Queen Square and Kirkby remains a Stagecoach service during this transitional period, so the photograph shows Metro branding ahead of the Liverpool and Knowsley franchising stage rather than proof that route 19 itself is already franchised. The wider programme aims to deliver more reliable and frequent buses, later evening and weekend services, simpler fares, improved accessibility, better links to jobs, hospitals and education, integrated ticketing and closer coordination with Merseyrail and Mersey Ferries. Multiple Metro buses together at Queen Square illustrate the scale of the fleet transition and the move towards a more unified, publicly specified transport network across the Liverpool City Region. It reflects devolution, transport decarbonisation and the return of coordinated network planning.