First Glasgow announces delay to withdrawal of its night bus services
First Glasgow can confirm it will be delaying the withdrawal of its night bus services until Sunday 20th August.
This news follows a meeting between First Glasgow and Glasgow City Council to discuss the matter of Glasgow’s late night public transport.
Duncan Cameron, Managing Director of First Bus Scotland, said: “This move is designed to provide more time for all partners – operators, politicians, public sector agencies and the hospitality sector – to review wider transport options late at night in the city.
“It also gives an opportunity for the people of Glasgow to get behind the night bus services as we maintain an open mind regarding future options in conjunction with stakeholders should passenger numbers increase as well as our driver numbers.
“It is important all stakeholders take learnings from the past six months and from the significant levels of discussion that have taken place this week. In Scotland, 75% of all public transport journeys are made by bus. It’s vital that when given the opportunity to engage on all bus matters, representatives from all partners stand up and input their views before a decision is finalised.”
The bus industry continues to face a wide range of challenges including a shortage of drivers. Glasgow City Council have ambitious plans to significantly improve bus journey speeds through the Glasgow Bus Partnership with operators and other partners and it is important we make this happen. This is a positive example of the good work we are calling for and more stakeholders across the city must show their support for further initiatives for bus and public transport to deliver for our city.
This release should be read in conjunction with the statement from Cllr Angus Millar, City Convener for Transport at Glasgow City Council, which is included in the notes to editors.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Comment from Cllr Angus Millar, City Convener for Transport at Glasgow City Council.
Cllr Angus Millar, City Convener for Transport at Glasgow City Council, said. “Glasgow City Council has been working constructively with First Glasgow and I welcome First’s agreement to extend night bus services for several weeks to allow for further engagement and exploration of key issues including patronage, routes and staff availability to take place with key partners.
“While the Council presently has no regulatory role in the bus sector, we can help facilitate further discussion around a sustainable future for night bus services with those regional and national agencies with statutory roles including SPT and Transport Scotland, key stakeholders from the evening economy and neighbouring local authorities.
“Alongside First we have also previously asked that the Scottish Government extend free bus travel for concessionary travel card holders including under-22s to night services and reiterate that call.
“The public interest in the future of night bus services makes clear the critical importance of bus to the travelling public and all stakeholders must work together on an ongoing basis to support improvements to the city’s bus network. In the meantime, all of us with an interest in the vibrancy and vitality of the evening economy must get together to look at the wider issues of late night public transport.”
ENDS
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For more information, please contact Craig Dennett, PR Manager for First Bus Scotland at craig.dennett@firstbus.co.uk
Notes to Editors
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.
For more information on First Bus: news-scot.firstbus.co.uk