Meeting of the Parliament 30 October 2024
I am sorry, but I do not have time.
I also believe that that view is in keeping with the spirit of the powers that were created through the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019.
When we look at the work that has been done elsewhere in the UK on bus franchising, we see a country that is moving towards legislation that is designed to simplify the process. Whether we are talking about UK Labour’s proposed better buses bill or the work that the Welsh Government and Transport for Wales have done on their road map to bus reform and franchising, the purpose of those exercises is to simplify the processes.
Therefore, it would be disappointing if Scotland, having been the first to do the work to introduce a route to bus franchising, was left with the most complex process for achieving that. I fully support local authorities having the ability to run their own bus services, to franchise bus services in their areas or to enter into bus service improvement partnerships with bus operators in their areas.
I believe that the bus network in Scotland has suffered under the private operator model that we have had for too long and that it is time that the power to determine what is best for an area when it comes to bus service provision was put back into the hands of people and communities across the country. That is why it is crucial that bus franchising is made as simple as possible. The annulment of the SSI that is before us will be a step in the right direction to achieving that.
18:16