YELLOW Buses finally looks set to be sold to a French operator after the government ruled the planned privatisation was legal.

The sale would bring to an end more than a century of public ownership of the town's buses.

The sell-off was held up in August when transport secretary Alistair Darling refused to sanction the deal.

He said there was a risk that the bidding process had discriminated against local coach firm Excelsior.

But Mr Darling has now concluded the sale was conducted in a "fair and proper manner" and that further delay would give a second chance to Go-Ahead, the owner of local rival Wilts & Dorset.

Bournemouth council's deputy leader Cllr Adrian Fudge said: "Yellow Buses desperately needs somebody to invest money in the company to be able to compete against Go-Ahead, which has been attempting an aggressive competitive stance around the area.

"Transdev has indicated it wants to have a strong presence in the area and therefore it's got to be good for the travelling public."

He said the deregulation of the bus industry in the 1980s meant there was no advantage to the council owning a bus company.

"Up to then we were able to influence that company and take decisions as far as the benefit of the town was concerned. But when Thatcher deregulated public transport and we weren't able to do that, it was probably the worst thing as far as the public were concerned," he added.

John Ashmore, managing director of Bournemouth Transport, said: "From our perspective and from a staff point of view, we want to see a resolution as soon as possible."

He said of Transdev: "It's the best fit and to me it has a very, very good reputation throughout the country where it does operate and I don't see any problem in Bournemouth with it operating here."

James Wall, branch secretary of the T&G union in Bournemouth, welcomed the news.

"It's about time too. It's given the staff something positive to think about because they've been very uncertain as to their future and they know within a short time everything's going to be solved and their futures will be secure," he said.

"If it had to be sold, Transdev, of the five bidders, offered the best assurances for pensions and job security."

First published: November 3, 2005