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| Buses in west of Scotland set to be brought under local control | Buses in west of Scotland set to be brought under local control |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Bus services in the west of Scotland are set to be brought back under local control under radical plans. | Bus services in the west of Scotland are set to be brought back under local control under radical plans. |
| The current deregulated network could be replaced with a franchise system like the ones in London and Manchester. | |
| This means fares, routes and ticketing would be controlled by a local public body such as Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT). | |
| However, SPT has said it could take seven years to set up and would need at least £45m in extra funding every year. | |
| In the meantime, Bus Service Improvement Partnerships will be introduced, where contracts are put in place with bus firms to run services. | In the meantime, Bus Service Improvement Partnerships will be introduced, where contracts are put in place with bus firms to run services. |
| This could allow more local control and enable operators to be judged on performance. | |
| Could Glasgow return to the orange buses of the 80s? | |
| Locally controlled bus network back after 37 years | |
| Reform recommendations were approved at an SPT meeting earlier. It said it would consult widely on the recommendations over the next few months. | |
| Under the planned franchise system, bus firms would have to bid for contracts within an approved network. | |
| A public body, such as SPT, would set the precise routes, the timetable, the frequency and take in fares. | |
| It means that routes with lower patronage are subsidised by busier, more popular routes. | |
| But bus operator McGills has warned that introducing a franchise system will create a "funding black hole for taxpayers". | |
| Deregulation, which was introduced by Margaret Thatcher in 1986, was meant to drive down fares and improve services amid competition, but has led to complaints about fewer services, punctuality and higher costs. | |
| Bus use plummeted | |
| Critics say bus firms cherry-pick the profitable routes, and leave the rest. | |
| According to SPT, bus use in the region has plummeted by a third in the past decade - equating to 70 million fewer bus journeys. | |
| And despite the fact that the bus network is shrinking, with fewer bus routes being served, fares have risen much faster than the cost of living. | |
| A similar system is in place in London and Manchester and is also being introduced in Liverpool. | |
| SPT has warned it could between five and seven years for a franchise system like the Bee Network in Manchester to be in operation. | |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Bus travel | Bus travel |
| Glasgow | Glasgow |