Bus Regulation in Scotland that puts passengers before profits

Buses are essential to community life, yet large swathes of our towns and cities are being left without a local bus service whilst operators wrangle over the most lucrative routes. In my own constituency, bus services have been cut because they were not considered to be commercially viable by operators.

At the moment, bus companies are paid to provide unprofitable but vital services to communities, but the terms of these arrangements are too one-way. Authorities get little say for their money in how these services are run, and when operators walk away with scant warning, communities lose out.

I believe it is time for the current market-driven set-up to change and so do many of the constituents, bus users and other stakeholders that I speak to. The Scottish Government needs to take action and change the law to ensure that bus services in Scotland put passengers before profits.