Meeting of the Parliament 30 April 2025
I agree with what the Government’s amendment says about deregulation and the impact that that has had. However, the SNP Government has done little to reverse that. Legislation was introduced, but we have seen no activity because of a lack of funding in local authority areas to progress that agenda, which is something that I think that we agree on.
We need to look at how to ensure more local involvement in delivering bus services for those areas so that alternatives to the car are being provided. However, when the car is the only option, we need to work to reduce reliance on it. Concessionary travel schemes encourage the use of public transport, particularly buses, for certain groups. However, to persuade more people out of cars, public transport has to be reliable, affordable and accessible. That is why Scottish Labour has pledged to remove peak fares for good as the first step in delivering a fairer pricing structure, which would mean that more people could afford to use public transport and that it would be competitively priced compared to driving, particularly when a family is travelling.
The reality is that price increases are pushing people into cars. We need to foster an environment where the car is not the default. We need to not just make it feasible to choose an alternative method; we need to make that a positive choice. That means not adding significant costs, in terms of money or time.
Part of that is about addressing the crumbling road network that is a result of the long-term underfunding of local authorities. The issue of potholes has already been covered. As a member of the cross-party group on music, I point out that the implementation of the LEZ scheme in Glasgow has been difficult for the night-time economy there.