A former Transport Secretary has joined calls for a radical shake-up of bus services so cities such as Birmingham can enjoy the same level of service as London.

Stephen Byers backed a Bill allowing local authorities to regulate buses in metropolitan areas, in the same way that the Mayor already does in the capital.

The proposal is also supported by Birmingham MP Richard Burden (Lab Northfield) Centro, the body responsible for promoting public transport in the West Midlands, called for councils to have far more control over bus services last month.

In evidence presented to a House of Commons inquiry, Centro warned that West Midland buses were unreliable, dirty and poorly maintained.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone puts bus routes out to tender, so that operators bid to supply a service to the city - which may include running loss-making services as well as profitable services, and guaranteeing minimum standards.

In most other parts of the country, including the West Midlands, bus companies simply run routes they believe will be most profitable.

The Bill was proposed by Nick Brown, a former environment secretary, who told MPs: "The proposal is to gain for the rest of metropolitan England what London already has."