Meeting of the Parliament 17 May 2023
No.
Before the pandemic, 373 million journeys a year were made by bus in Scotland, which was the largest number of journeys for any form of public transport. Journey figures have rebounded, but not to pre-pandemic levels. Buses can hold the key if the Government is serious about hitting its target to reduce the number of car miles by 20 per cent by 2030. However, it has presented no ideas on how to achieve that.
Buses need to be there for people, and they need to offer something better than the car. The Scottish Government’s decision to cut the network support grant plus in March was baffling. That did not happen anywhere else in Britain. Operator warnings that that could lead to a rise in fares and a reduction in services fell on deaf ears. Last year’s savage cuts to local government spending were met with similar disdain, with Councillor Gail Macgregor of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities warning in January that councils would struggle to fund services.
However, it is not just on funding that the SNP is failing. The Government’s goal to remove the majority of the country’s diesel bus fleet in favour of zero-emission models by the end of 2023 lies in tatters. Transform Scotland estimates that just 16 per cent will be converted by that time.