Bus Services Regulation

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 17 March 2011.

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Photo of Bob Doris Bob Doris Scottish National Party

I want to talk about ways in which we can make bus services more responsive to the needs of the communities that I represent in Glasgow. By more responsive I mean not just better service provision in general, but also an integrated system that will promote modal shift from car to bus and other forms of public transport.

I will illustrate my point using the example of my commute. On my return from Parliament in Edinburgh, I get off the train at Queen Street station and have a variety of choices of ways in which to make my way back to my home in Maryhill. I can go for a 10 or 15-minute walk to the bus stop and wait in the city centre for an indeterminate period of time for a bus that will provide a debatable quality of service. Alternatively, I can jump in a taxi—in bad weather, when nights are dark and when time is short, I have done that, but for many of my constituents that is an unrealistic option, due to cost, and, further, it does not meet our desire to effect a modal shift in commuter culture. My third option is to get on the subway at Buchanan Street, disembark at St George’s Cross and get a bus to Maryhill from there—indeed, when I am not pressed for time, that is my preferred option, and it represents joined-up and clever public transport provision.

That option best sums up an integrated transport network—a journey using train, subway and bus seamlessly. That is the vision that we all strive and aspire to achieve. However, the issue with that option is that the infrequency and the overcrowding of the subway service make it an undesirable option for many. However, that will all change, and I am proud that an SNP Government has committed public funding to the full modernisation of the subway system. I am proud of how the SNP has delivered for Glasgow on that front.

That financial commitment will deliver new rolling stock, refurbished stations and an integrated ticketing network across all public modes of transport. That will drive integrated provision, with buses at new key interchanges, such as St George’s Cross, and buses being taken outwith the city centre and not having to start their journey in the city centre in the first place. That is what this is all about.

I see progress already, with Glasgow City Council and SPT moving to introduce a statutory quality partnership scheme for all bus services within the city boundaries. It will consider routes, waiting areas, emissions and air quality, under the current regulatory powers that exist.

We all need that can-do attitude to public transport. When Labour MSPs were standing outside underground stations with petitions for subway modernisation, I was meeting the former transport minister, Stewart Stevenson, with that can-do attitude, and when they were putting out alarmist press releases, I was meeting the new transport minister, Keith Brown. When they were talking complete nonsense, I was meeting the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney, to discuss how we could secure financial funding. When they were full of bluff, bluster and alarm, we were delivering on public transport for Glasgow. The SNP has a can-do attitude, and we will deliver further using the regulatory powers that we have and by working in partnership with bus companies and representatives of other forms of transport.

I urge members to support the amendment in the name of Keith Brown.