First Bus and McGill’s Group announce continuation of Glasgow night bus network
First Bus has announced the formation of a new night bus network in collaboration with McGill’s Group to ensure the continuation of Glasgow’s night bus network moving forward.
The city’s largest bus operator will operate four night bus routes between 12:45am and 3am on Friday and Saturday nights while McGill’s Group will take on a further five routes.
This collaborative solution preserves the majority of night bus journeys and highlights the commitment of the wider bus industry to meet the needs of the people of Glasgow.
This new approach stretches First Glasgow’s driver resource as far as it possibly can to provide services into the early hours of Saturday and Sunday morning, reiterating First Bus’ commitment to delivering for its customers and the communities it serves.
The new-look late-night service is on top of the already comprehensive network of First Bus services, which continue to provide links up to and beyond midnight across Greater Glasgow.
First Bus’ data shows a post-pandemic shift in behaviour in Glasgow, with over 2,500 more people catching the bus between 10:30pm and midnight on Friday and Saturday nights than before.
Duncan Cameron, Managing Director for First Bus Scotland, said: “Following discussions with business owners and key stakeholders in the city, we are pleased to announce a new collaborative solution alongside McGill’s Group to continue offering a comprehensive night bus network in Glasgow.
“When we first announced the withdrawal of our night bus services, we highlighted the challenges we faced as a business. This solution allows us to continue to operate a night bus service in the face of the current driver shortage.
“It also highlights the importance of the Glasgow Bus Partnership in being agile and the benefits of operators working together to overcome challenges, providing the services needed by the people of Glasgow.
“We understand the need for a wider late-night public transport strategy in Glasgow. Our hope is we will now see action from stakeholders, politicians and other transport modes to support local businesses and provide a way forward for the city’s night-time economy.”
The announcement also follows the recent announcement of enhancements on services 2 and 3 from 20th August which will improve services for over 600,000 people per month in the city as First Glasgow continues to utilise data to allocate resource to meet demand.
For full information on all changes, please visit firstglasgow.com
ENDS
Notes to editors
First Bus Night Bus Routes
Service N2 (East): Sauchiehall Street – Central Station (Renfield St) – Parkhead – Shettleston – Baillieston – Easterhouse.
Service N18: Sauchiehall Street – Central Station (Union St) – Rutherglen – East Kilbride – Greenhills
Service N240: Sauchiehall Street – Central Station (Renfield St) – Parkhead – Tollcross – Viewpark – Bellshill – Motherwell – Wishaw – Coltness - Cleland
Service N267: Sauchiehall Street – Central Station (Union St) – New Gorbals – Rutherglen – Cambuslang – Hamilton - Hillhouse
McGill’s Group Night Bus Routes
Service N3: City Centre – Shawlands – Thornliebank - Nitshill - Pollok
Service N4: City Centre – Shawlands – Eastwood - Newton Mearns
Service N6: City Centre – Anniesland - Scotstoun – Clydebank
Service N38: City Centre – Ibrox – Paisley
Service N60: City Centre – Maryhill – Drumchapel
About First Bus
First Bus is one of the UK’s largest bus operators. Making journeys easier for our customers, we were the first national bus operator to accept contactless card payments across all of our services and our First Bus App is voted ‘best in class’ amongst UK bus operators. Our most recent investments are in new, state-of-the-art buses across our key networks.
We work proactively with our local authority partners, making a positive impact on air quality, tackling congestion and improving customer experience. We are focused on First Bus becoming a leader in the transition to a low-carbon future and are committed to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035; we have pledged not to purchase any new diesel buses after December 2022. We also operate the Aircoach network in Ireland.
First Bus is a division of FirstGroup.
First Bus is an equal opportunity employer
First Bus is an excellent place to work with opportunities for a rewarding career.
We are committed to equality of opportunity, diversity and inclusion. We believe diverse experiences and attitudes help us better understand the needs of our customers.
We are working to increase the number of females applying for bus driver roles within the business as we do believe businesses are more likely to have continued success if our bus companies reflect the communities that they serve.
For more information on First Bus: news-scot.firstbus.co.uk