Yet another round of cuts to bus services

Posted on February 23, 2012

A couple of weeks ago I received a letter from First Glasgow, the operator of most of Glasgow’s buses, highlighting implications of the SNP’s cut to the Bus Service Operators Grant. Those implications could include cuts to services as well as fare increases.

I immediately wrote back, asking how they would consult passengers about all of this. I’m deeply opposed to the funding cut which has been imposed, and I know that as that grant goes down something will have to give at local level. But the people who rely on Glasgow’s buses every day of the week should be listened to; our priorities shold be taken into account before any decisions are made.

So I was deeply disappointed to receive today another letter explaining that the decisions have been made and the cuts to services will go ahead.

Eight services will be scrapped altogether – the The 2, 25, 29, 91, 17, 213A, 207 and 209. Many more will be degraded.

This will lead to anger across the city, and rightly so. Most households in Glasgow don’t have access to a car, and huge numbers of us rely on buses every day of our lives. The case for a better bus grant is strong of course, but there’s also an overwhelming case for regulating this industry and treating buses as a service instead of just a business run for profit.

4 Comments

  1. Are we still going to have two 23 bus routes?

    Comment by J Crichton — February 23, 2012 @ 7:12 pm

  2. It looks like it. I saw no changes to the 23 mentioned in the letter.

    Just another absurd example among so many.

    Comment by Patrick — February 23, 2012 @ 8:35 pm

  3. The buses that are being scrapped are already heavily subsidised by SPT. The route 2 for example, is only driven around Castlemilk to Toryglen Asda, and most of the time is empty, or at least has 1 passenger.

    The 29 goes from Crossmyloof to Mansewood, and again, rarely has any passengers on board.

    These services are a complete waste of money, and deserve to be scrapped. The 23 however, is a VITAL service that runs from Govan to Summerston/Blairdardie

    There are so many services that also need to go, not just for the cost involved, but as an empty bus is a polluter too

    Comment by james (the driver) — February 23, 2012 @ 11:07 pm

  4. Passengers might even have agreed with some of the changes, if they had been asked. But there appears to have been no attempt to consult people about the cuts.
    As I said in the post, the cut to the grant is the immediate cause here, but First also has a track record of treating bus services just like any old business, not a public service. That’s the consequence of deregulation.

    Comment by Patrick — February 24, 2012 @ 1:47 am