Bus operator Rotala has won the right to appeal the decision which had cleared the road for bus reform in Greater Manchester.
An unwelcome hurdle to Andy Burnham's plans to transform the bus network to bring cheaper fares and better timetables, the hearing is expected to now take place this summer.
It follows a long-awaited victory for reform in March, when a judge ruled against firms Stagecoach and Rotala, who claimed the process taken by leaders to move to a franchising system, where operators had to bid to run services under public control, was 'irrational' and 'unlawful'.
Their arguments against the process included how changes wrought by Covid on the public transport network might impact the case for reform.
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