Scottish Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy has called for bus fares in Glasgow to be capped to arrest the alarming decline of passenger numbers.
From January 1st, bus fares in Scotland will be higher than in England as 130 operators in England signed up to a £2 cap on fares for the first three months of the year. This follows a similar move in Greater Manchester, delivered by Labour Mayor Andy Burnham.
Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP is urging the SNP government to follow suit and cap fares, warning that buses in Glasgow are “on the brink of collapse”.
Over the last 5 years fares in Scotland have already been rising twice as fast in real terms as the average across Britain, while bus usage has plummeted. In South West and Strathclyde, the number of bus passenger journeys dropped by a staggering 61% in 2020-21, after the pandemic piled pressure on to already-fragile services. Even before Covid, the number of bus journeys being taken in South West and Strathclyde had dropped by 35% on the SNP’s watch, higher than the national 26% fall. This has left Glasgow at risk of “more cuts and decline”, Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP has warned.
Scottish Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP said:
“The bus services people in Glasgow rely on every day are on the brink of collapse, it’s time we capped fares and run busses for public not profit.
“The SNP must follow the lead of Labour Mayors and cap fares to make public transport affordable once again.
“Our communities, our economy and our planet need a working bus network which is affordable, accessible and reliable, and which is in public hands.
“As the cost of living soars my constituents need the Government to take serious action to reduce transport costs, without it their ability to get to work and study, travel to supermarkets and to appointments is being threatened.
“Bus services in Glasgow will face more cuts and decline unless we take serious action and provide better, cheaper buses.”
ENDS
Notes
2.11 Bus fares in Scotland have increased by 6 per cent in real terms (adjusting for the effects of inflation) over the past five years, while the increase for Great Britain was 3 per cent.
Details of UK fare cap:
Scottish Labour has previously called for local bus fares across Scotland to be capped at no more than £1.80 per journey.
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