Meeting of the Parliament 12 November 2025
I wish that I had the time, but I do not. I am sorry.
In my region, bus travel has fallen by a third—that is 70 million fewer journeys just in the West Scotland region. That probably explains why the M8 is a car park most of the time. All the while, fares rose by 16 per cent over that period.
The Scottish Government says that it wants to get people out of their cars and on to public transport. That is great, but in what way does removing a lifeline bus service encourage people out of their cars? The reality is that our rural and island communities have been let down the most by that travesty.
The Scottish Government has spent a lot of money on buses. It has subsidised concessionary fares and services by nearly £1.3 billion over the past three years alone. That is public investment for the public good, right? However, the fault of the current system is that it leaves all the power to private operators, which can pick and choose the routes that they want to run while demanding subsidies for the ones that make them no profit. The model is, simply, broken.
Back in 2019, I remember sitting on the lead committee for the Transport (Scotland) Bill, which gave councils powers to create and operate local bus services under a new franchising model. However, six years on, not a single franchise has been delivered under that model. That is because, clearly, the capital and other resources that are needed to deliver such a franchise just do not exist. I said all that, of course, when the bill passed. Councils were given all the power, but none of the resource.
As has already been pointed out, when it is got right, the system actually works. Greater Manchester has had 7 million more bus journeys and there are 24-hour routes—can members imagine a 24-hour bus service in some communities?—all because it restructured its franchising model and remodelled its ticketing system. I lodged an amendment to the 2019 bill on smart ticketing but, unsurprisingly, the Government rejected it.
Some six years later, I do not think that it is beyond the wit of ministers or Transport Scotland to come up with some real long-term solutions to the long-term problems of a declining number of bus routes, rising costs and falling passenger numbers.
If the Government is serious about the local authority franchising model, it needs back that up with resource and—I am afraid—money. Multiyear funding settlements to councils will let them make multiyear investment and spending decisions. Every £1 invested in our local bus services delivers up to £4.50 in wider economic and social benefits.
However, in return for public subsidy, I want to see operators meeting clear benchmarks for reliability, punctuality and, of course, accessibility. Travellers want us to get this right—buses that come on time, tickets that they can afford and routes that connect. The current model is unsustainable for the public purse and bad for commuters, and it sees a small, select few operators make the most of the profit.
I will support all the amendments today, because they all have something valid to say, but it is not about time that we all sat down around the table and came up with some solutions? Surely the travelling public deserve that.