Scottish Labour MSP for West Scotland Neil Bibby says he believes that bus services are at risk and that Scotland needs to follow English Labour-run mayoral city regions to make transport more reliable and affordable. The MSP told The Scotsman: “The bus services people need every day to get to their work and move around their communities are on the brink of collapse. As a result, more and more people are being forced into cars by unreliable and overpriced services. In order to get people back on the buses, we should follow the lead Labour mayors have set in England to cap fares and make public transport affordable once again.
“In Edinburgh, council-owned Lothian Buses’ single fares are just £1.80, but elsewhere in Scotland passengers are paying rip-off fares to private bus companies, such as £2.65 for a two-mile journey in Greater Glasgow.”
Data collected by Transport Scotland shows that passenger journeys by bus in Scotland fell by 65% in 2020/21 to 127 million following the pandemic, compared with 363 million the previous year. Over the same period, it is also claimed that bus fares in Scotland have risen by 6%, or double the 3% rise in England and Wales.
A Transport Scotland spokesperson responded to the comments, saying that the Scottish Government already invests £300m annually to deliver free bus travel for children and young people under 22 and for eligible disabled people as well as those aged 60 and over. “This means Scotland has the most generous concessionary fare scheme in the UK, with more than 2.3 million people eligible for free bus travel, encouraging more people to choose to take the bus and helping us meet our net-zero targets by encouraging a shift away from cars,” the spokesperson said.
“We are progressing the Fair Fares Review to ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to fares that supports the long-term viability of our public transport system as we recover from the pandemic. It will develop and assess options to create a fairer, more transparent system of fares across all modes that maintain and increase affordability for those who need it most.”
