Meeting of the Parliament 26 June 2025
It is my understanding that there is no requirement for SPT to do so, which means that we could be left with a situation in which there is no public accountability for the actions that it is taking. I do not think that either of us think that that is acceptable, because we need public accountability in that regard.
In all cases, not having a legal requirement for bus operators to consult the public on service cancellations, or to notify them until after a cancellation has been confirmed, is difficult and removes opportunity for public scrutiny. I would be grateful if, in his closing remarks, the minister could set out the ways in which the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 has teeth and can be used to influence bus operators’ decisions so that they can be subjected to appropriate scrutiny.
For people who rely on the 65 service that I mentioned, the lack of consultation on the decision to withdraw it is devastating. One resident said that the service means everything to her, because it connects her with life outside. Without it, she would not be able to have the same quality of life. That is exactly the impact that pulling services without employing democratic accountability can have on people’s lives.
I will use the short time that I have remaining to describe my experience of travelling on buses in Glasgow as a disabled woman. I say on the record that, as Patrick Harvie has highlighted, even getting to a bus stop in Glasgow can be difficult for anyone, and they cannot be sure whether a bus will come along. A wheelchair user has the added lottery element of not knowing whether the bus will be fully accessible or whether someone else will be in the wheelchair space. That makes it really difficult to travel around a city in which buses can be the only accessible form of transport. In the past couple of years, NASA has put disabled people on the moon. If NASA can do that, surely bus authorities can help disabled people to get across our great city.