Meeting of the Parliament 26 June 2025
I thank my colleague, Patrick Harvie, for bringing this important debate to the chamber. I also thank the Deputy Presiding Officer for agreeing that I may leave before the debate concludes, as I need to head back to Glasgow. After the time of the debate was changed, I was unable to reschedule what I need to be back for, so I apologise to colleagues and to Patrick Harvie, and I put on record that I will undertake to watch the minister’s contribution early in the next few days.
People in Glasgow need affordable, reliable and environmentally sustainable bus services. The 2022 census reported that 9.3 per cent of commuters in Glasgow use the bus as their main mode of transport when travelling to work; that is much higher than the national average. Furthermore, it should be noted that that figure covers only travel to work and does not include non-work trips such as for shopping, leisure or healthcare visits, as we have heard.
As a result, the percentage of people across the region who rely on buses is likely to be far higher, particularly among the older population. In fact, the Glasgow Bus Alliance estimates that buses provide 75 per cent of the public transport services in Glasgow, and they are an integral part of daily life. However, that means that any changes to service provision have a wide-ranging impact. We have heard already about the First Bus 65 service, which runs from Glasgow to Halfway and how passengers on that service were told, with less than 28 days’ notice, that their service was being withdrawn without consultation or engagement with passengers.
The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 requires bus companies to notify local authorities when they plan to vary or cancel a bus service. In this case, First Bus notified SPT, as the affected authority. However, there was no requirement for local authorities to be notified by either the bus operator or the transport authority. As a result, although school routes are affected, at least in the South Lanarkshire Council area, as we have heard, and First Bus and the council were in active discussion over the matter, there was no legal requirement for the company to disclose the material change in circumstance to the council.
That means that, where there is a transport authority in place, there is no requirement for a bus operator to notify any affected local authority of a service cancellation, thus distancing the decision from democratic oversight.