Plan to bring Ayrshire buses under public control approved

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) agreed to begin work on establishing local bus franchising across the west of Scotland, in line with the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, at a meeting on Friday.

SPT says franchising is a proven model for delivering local bus services throughout Europe, and that it can significantly improve networks, lead to more passengers and boost accessibility.

The organisation said the process will cost up to £15 million and could take between five and seven years to establish.

It was also recommended that SPT, along with its partners, should progress with the bus service improvements partnership (BSIP) arrangements to provide a basis to curb the decline in passenger numbers.

Bus services in the west of Scotland, and all over the UK apart from London, were deregulated by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government in 1986.

SPT's step closer to a franchising arrangement could see the west of Scotland follow in the footsteps of Greater Manchester, where the first stage of a franchising scheme, with bus operators awarded contracts to  operate services, was introduced last September, with more areas to follow this month and in January 2025.

 Stephen Dornan, SPT chairman, 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 ‘on board’ 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.

Until the passing of the Transport Act 2019, SPT's powers over bus services were limited to its subsidy for, and specification of, loss-making but socially necessary services (Image: Newsquest)

“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.”

Local services franchising is a system that allows a local transport authority to award exclusive rights to an operator to run certain bus services for a set period of time.

SPT board papers state the local transport authority must first put in place a franchise framework setting out what local services are to be provided, the standards to which the services are to be provided, and any additional facilities or services that are to be provided.

Under this franchise framework, the local transport authority enters into franchise agreements with bus operators, awarded through competitive processes, to deliver the specified services and standards.

SPT's current powers over bus services are limited to its subsidy for, and specification of, loss-making routes providing socially necessary services in communities, and at times, which private operators do not.

Transport Scotland, the country’s national transport agency, said: “The bus provisions in the 2019 Act empower local transport authorities with the flexible tools they need to respond to their own transport challenges and we welcome SPT’s decision to explore all available bus powers as part of their Strathclyde regional bus strategy.

“We encourage all local transport authorities to consider the full range of tools available to them under the 2019 Act, to ensure that everyone has accessible public transport regardless of where they are in Scotland.”

However, one of the country's largest bus operators, Greenock-based McGills Group, has criticised the move, urging SPT "not to throw the baby out with the bath water in their quest for power" and stating the responsibility for declining bus usage lay with the infrastructure rather than the private operators.

SPT is urging people to respond to its consultation on the plans, which will launch in April.