Campaigners call for action on buses
CAMPAIGNERS demanded “better buses now” as they gathered outside Glasgow’s city chambers. Campaign group Get Glasgow Moving has collected more than 7000 signatures on a petition calling on the city council to “take back our buses and build a better public transport system for everyone in our city”.
Members, who have received support from unions and Labour councillors, handed the petition to council leader Susan Aitken.
Campaigner Rebecca Menzies said: “Over 7000 Glaswegians signed our petition because they were fed up with high fares, unreliable buses and cuts to routes.
“It was good to meet Councillor Aitken. While she was very supportive of our campaign and our aims for affordable, accountable and integrated public transport, we still feel there’s more work to be done, particularly on regulating private operators to provide the services that we need at an affordable rate.
“The council has been in a formal ‘partnership’ with the main bus operators since November 2018, however as passengers we have not seen the benefits of this.
“In 2019 our bus fares went up twice and numerous vital routes were reduced or completely cut.”
She added: “We are glad that Councillor Aitken was open to new powers in the Transport Scotland Act, like regulating the network through franchising and publicly owned buses.
“Get Glasgow Moving will continue to push the council to deliver the improvements needed to create an integrated public transport network that puts passengers and our environment first.”
City councillors agreed the authority should look at taking bus services into public ownership when it met in June, following First
Group’s announcement that it was putting its UK operations up for sale.
But just last week Ms Aitken revealed the operator had confirmed “the sale is now off the table” after enquiries by officers from the city authority. She said the council had “formally lodged an expression of interest with First Group and made a number of enquiries to determine when the sale process was likely to commence”.
First Group confirmed it wasn’t currently looking to sell its UK division, with a spokesman saying: “Our bus companies are attractive businesses and we are confident that greater value can be created from more efficient operations.”
Former Labour MP Paul Sweeney, who had called for the council to take control of bus services during his time in office, tweeted his support for the campaign.
“They must take action now to use new powers to franchise buses and to set up a people-owned bus company,” he said.
Labour councillor Eva Murray said: “I believe private operators have failed passengers – they’ve removed vital routes and services have declined.
“We desperately need a bus network that runs in the interests of people, not profit.”