Ralph Roberts, Chairman of McGill’s Bus Group, has described the questions in the public consultation on bus reform in Strathclyde as ‘leading’.

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) Partnership has unanimously approved the Strathclyde Regional Bus Strategy (SRBS) and action plan, including development of bus franchising across the region. The decision follows a public consultation on the future of bus in the west of Scotland earlier in the year, where 83% of respondents supported the view that SPT should take forward plans for bus franchising with 5% opposing such plans.

Now that the Partnership has approved the final Strathclyde Regional Bus Strategy, SPT is to work up a costed programme and timeline to deliver a Franchise Framework Assessment as required by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019). This programme will be presented to the Partnership in December 2025.

“The sample size of 5,000 is less than 1% of physical people using buses daily in Strathclyde” – Ralph Roberts

Commenting on the result, Ralph Roberts said: “This decision was taken some time ago so this latest outcome is no surprise. It is good that SPT has eventually realised how important bus users are after decades of pandering to well-heeled car users. The sample size is exceptionally small and the consultation questions were leading, so it is unsurprising that the result was the complete opposite from the Government’s own survey by Transport Focus whose results reported the buses in Strathclyde as the best in Scotland.”

He continued: “The sample size of 5,000 is less than 1% of physical people using buses daily in Strathclyde. We cannot base policy on the exception rather than the rule. McGill’s await the details behind this decision which will reveal the exact shape of bus reform that SPT has in mind. McGill’s main concern is that the bus users of Strathclyde should be the central focus of any reform. None of this will happen without significant funding.

“SPT’s local authorities have fully consumed budgets so will rely on Scottish Government to fund their £400m per annum wish list. This is, as yet, unagreed so this decision today is rather pointless unless funding in made available.”

Majority ‘not satisfied’, says SPT

Commenting on the outcome of the consultation, SPT chair, Stephen Dornan, said: “The public consultation clearly demonstrates that the majority of those who responded are not satisfied with the current bus network and most organisations which responded do not believe the current bus network meets the needs of the general public. SPT will now take forward plans for the development of bus franchising.”

“Moving forward with plans for bus franchising we hope will ensure better sustainable access for those communities, opening up new opportunities in education, employment and training in the future” – SPT vice chair, Alan Moir

SPT vice chair, Alan Moir, said: “Bus plays a huge role in our society serving many poorly connected and disadvantaged communities. We need an improved bus network to unlock the economic potential of our region and to address the climate emergency. Moving forward with plans for bus franchising we hope will ensure better sustainable access for those communities, opening up new opportunities in education, employment and training in the future.”

 SPT vice chair, David Wilson, said: “As SPT moves forward with plans for future franchising, we need to continue to work collaboratively with the bus industry to deliver a better and more accountable bus service for passengers.”