A campaign to reinstate a public-owned and managed bus network in Glasgow and the West of Scotland has been launched.


The plan would be for local public control of bus services and bringing to an end more than three decades of deregulation and privately owned and run bus services.

The pledge will be a key theme in the party’s local council elections next year.

The area affected covers 12 council areas that were in the old Strathclyde Regional Council area and which had the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive which ran buses in the city until the 1980s.

It covers more than 2 million people with bus services run by a number of privately owned firms including First, the biggest in Glasgow, Stagecoach and McGills.

Leaders of local authority Labour Groups in the 12 councils have agreed the statement of intent, towards achieving a publicly-controlled bus network.

Eva Murray, deputy Glasgow Labour group leader, said: “For too long, the people of Glasgow have been failed by the private ownership of our buses. 

“Labour’s bold and common-sense proposal will put Glaswegians in the driving seat, deliver lower fares and cut car use in our city.”

Glasgow Times:
The leaders’ joint statement says: “The broken bus market has failed the people of Strathclyde. After 35 years of deregulation, the bus network is in decline and passenger numbers have reached a record low. 

“It is impossible for the bus network in its present form to deliver the sustainable, integrated services our communities deserve. 

“The time has come to replace the broken bus market with a democratic alternative and guarantee better bus services for Strathclyde, run for passengers and not for profit.” 

Glasgow’s biggest bus operator, First, said it has invested heavily in better buses and changing ownership will not solve the challenges faced by public transport.

Glasgow Times:
Duncan Cameron, Interim Managing Director for First Bus in Scotland, said: “First Bus firmly believe that local authorities should have the capacity, skills and finance to effectively tackle congestion, keep the roads and pavements in good order, deal with parking and bus lane infringements and maintain, manage and clean bus stations and bus stops. 

“These factors, such as congestion, cheap parking and changing shopping habits, will simply not be remedied by who owns what bus.  

“Sustainability is at the forefront of our investment programme. As such, the private sector is much better placed to access the finance required to deliver high quality, low or zero emission vehicles that customers now demand, whilst also being fully agile to respond to changing travel habits.

“In the last 2 years, First Glasgow has brought £40 million of investment to the city in the form of new, greener, fully accessible vehicles.  Over the next 18 months, First Glasgow will be investing £35 million on 148 electric vehicles leading the way in sustainable travel in Scotland right ahead of the city hosting COP26."

A spokesman for the Confereration of Passenger Transport, which represents the bus industry, said: "Several factors impact upon bus services and fares beyond who owns or operates the vehicles. Research indicates 75% of the factors that influence bus patronage are outwith an operator’s control. These include congestion and bus priority measures  – two key aspects that are already within the power of local authorities to address.

"The claim that public control will resolve current issues fails to acknowledge that patronage decline was steeper in the years preceding deregulation that at any stage since. Areas with greater public control, such as London, Northern Ireland, or Edinburgh, are not immune to congestion, or the impact of Covid-19, and are currently facing budget deficits or introducing service cuts."