Strathclyde Passenger Transport to franchise buses

However, franchising is bitterly opposed by private companies who currently control routes, with McGills threatening legal action and describing the proposals as "business confiscation".

SPT said that franchising would take five to seven years to complete, and would require additional funding from the Scottish Government.

Franchising would allow SPT to control bus routes, fares and also bus branding and livery. SPT would be responsible for setting out what local services are to be provided, and the standards to which the services are to be provided in an agreement with private operators. 

A public consultation will now be launched on the proposals, to be held over the coming months.  

The model would be similar to that Edinburgh’s buses, which have among the cheapest fares in Scotland , and are controlled by the publicly-owned Lothian buses, a partnership between the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Mid Lothian and West Lothian councils. 

Lothian buses (Image: NQ)

SPT said that franchising is a “proven model for delivery”, used by local bus services across Europe which provides “the greatest certainty of making significant improvement to the network”.

It added that the plan would increase passenger growth, allow better accessibility for all and “deliver wider public policy outcomes”.

The cost of undertaking the franchising process to the point of implementation is estimated at up to £15m.

SPT said that in the meantime a Bus Service Improvements Partnership (BSIP) arrangements would be put in place in the short to medium term to provide a basis for private and public sector commitments to arrest further passenger decline, stabilise and improve the bus network.

The body said it would “work collectively” with current private bus firms to establish the franchise model.

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SPT chair SNP Councillor Stephen Dornan said: “This is a bold and ambitious plan from SPT which sets a strong approach to tackle a declining bus market. 

“It gives us opportunities to build for growth, and deliver a network that is attractive, accessible, and affordable to both passengers in our communities who rely on the bus to get around and those who we need to get ‘onboard’ by offering an attractive alternative to the private car.

“However, any franchising option will take time and investment to establish so we need to look at doing something now to halt the declining bus market. BSIPs, which also require suitable investment, offer the best opportunity for a significant, interim improvement while we work to establish the world-class local bus franchise model the people of the West of Scotland deserve.

“In order to progress any of these options, we need investment from the Scottish Government which now has to step up with real funding and a commitment to support public transport, particularly bus which for too long has been forgotten and now requires urgent action.” 

McGill's buses are opposed to the move (Image: NQ)

Vice-chair, Labour Councillor Alan Moir added: “The preferred options presented by SPT today have the potential to revolutionise local bus services in the west of Scotland to the clear benefit of bus passengers and local communities.

“The need to stabilise the local bus market, deliver bus reform, and fully harness the strengths of all those collectively employed in the sector is also very clear. 

“It is only by doing so that buses can fully contribute to our wider economic, societal, and environmental objectives. Allowing the continued decline of services is simply not an option, we all need sustainable local bus services to deliver so much more.”

Campaigners had called for franchising to be put in place (Image: NQ/Colin Mearns)

Vice-chair, Conservative Councillor David Wilson said:  “We have been presented with the best options to take forward proper bus reform for our area.

"The need for a long-term plan for buses is clear and comes after a full appraisal of all the options available against a range of criteria. Delivery of a competitive franchising model, as proposed, has the potential to harness the best aspects of the public and private sector collaboration in delivery of local bus services."

The franchise plan has been made possible by the The Transport Act of 2019, which gave local authorities the power to shake up services.

Under the Act, local transport authorities are allowed to run their own bus services, franchise bus services in their areas; or enter into a Bus Service Improvement Partnerships (BSIPs) with bus operators.  

Franchising has long been backed by the Centre for Cities think-tank, whose Chief Executive Andrew Carter said that Glasgow and the wider Strathclyde area were  "setting a precedent for other places in Scotland to follow".

He said: “The current public transport network in and around Glasgow under-serves lots of its residents and bus franchising could improve access to the city centre for around 300,000 people.

"It will lead to better routes, better pricing and simpler fares for passengers. It’s one step towards reversing decline in bus travel and getting the economy firing again.

“Greater Manchester, the first place outside London to implement bus franchising, has already seen rising passenger satisfaction and an 8% increase in bus passenger numbers.”

More than 10,000 people signed a petition calling for franchising to be put in place, with a grassroots campaign coming together to lobby SPT

Ellie Harrison, of Get Glasgow Moving, said that the transport body had had to be dragged "kicking and screaming" to the decision. 

She said: "It's a big day today, and we're very very pleased SPT are moving towards franchising. It's people power that has achieved this.

"There is still a long way to go, and we do not want to see them waste time and money with Bus Service Improvements Partnership. Instead, we should put all our resources into making sure that franchising comes to pass.

"We will be keeping up the pressure to make sure that happens."  

Responding to the news, Ralph Roberts, CEO of McGill’s Group, said: “The bus users of Strathclyde consistently tell us that their number one issue in using buses is congestion, which affects service reliability, journey times and cost of travel.

“The biggest priority for SPT should be to push local authorities to manage their infrastructure under the powers they already have which will allow bus users to make more consistent, quicker and cheaper journeys.

“Under the status quo, private operators in Strathclyde have invested hundreds of millions of pounds in zero-emission buses.

“There are six times the number of zero-emission buses in Strathclyde than there is in Manchester so clearly, franchising is not the panacea that some people make it out to be.

“If SPT and local authorities had done their job in this regard over the last 20 years, bus use would have grown rather than declined. As it stands, a world-class bus system cannot operate on third-world infrastructure.

“Buses are the most popular form of public transport with high levels of customer satisfaction.

“According to the most recent Transport Scotland statistics, bus services across Scotland shared £51million in core funding from government for delivering 79% of public transport journeys. At the same time, rail services in Scotland received £1.4billion from the public purse for delivering only 16% of public transport journeys – perhaps indicating where problems lie.

“SPT needs to be very careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water in their quest for power. They claim that the cost of undertaking the franchising process to the point of implementation is estimated at up to £15million and we will be interested to see exactly how this figure is justified.

“McGill’s Group will be taking part in the consultation due to launch in April and will set out our position more fully at that point.”