Green MSP pledges to 'take on' billionaire bus boss
This morning, Mr Easdale criticised the West of Scotland MSP's renewed push for bus franchising in Strathclyde – a policy now central to his bid to become co-leader of the Scottish Greens.
Mr Greer is calling for bus services to be brought back into public ownership to improve reliability and meet community needs.
The bus group owner said the move could cost the public purse up to £400 million every year – without adding a new service, according to figures obtained by McGill's.
However, Mr Greer has now told The Herald he is not surprised Mr Easdale does not like his plans as he criticised the bus boss for 'rinsing' commuters by hiking fare prices.
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Bus company slams MSP over Glasgow franchising proposal
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Mr Greer said: 'It's no surprise that billionaires like Sandy Easdale don't like my plans to put public transport back under public control.
"He's made a fortune by rinsing passengers with ever-increasing fare prices, all while collecting millions of pounds of government subsidies from the taxpayer. My constituents are sick of putting money in Sandy's pockets every time they buy a McGills ticket.
"If privatised bus services are so successful, will McGills refund taxpayers the £18.6 million of public money they pocketed to buy themselves new buses over the last five years, or the £59 million they collected in 'operator subsidies' over the same period of time?"
Mr Greer has used the public fallout to platform his calls to increase taxes on who he previously described during his leadership bid announcement as "the super-rich".
He added: 'If I'm elected co-leader of the Scottish Greens, I will take on the billionaires raking in taxpayers' money while ordinary people struggle to get by.
"I'm proud to have already secured tax rises on Scotland's highest earners, raising billions of pounds to invest in our schools, trains and NHS. As a socialist, I think public services and public transport should be run by and for the people, not the Easdale brothers.'
Mr Greer also posted on X: "It looks like I've deeply upset one of the UK's thinnest-skinned billionaires by pointing out how much his company pockets from the taxpayer. If privatisation is such good value, why does it always seem to need so much public subsidy?"
Mr Greer recently highlighted the case of a man from Skelmorlie who must take eight buses in a single day to reach Crosshouse Hospital for his regular appointment.
The MSP said the current model is failing the West of Scotland and called for a return to public control and ownership to improve reliability, affordability, and accessibility.
Yet, Mr Easdale has now said the anecdote only exposed the wider failings of public service planning – not the transport network itself.
Mr Easdale said: 'If Greer had any compassion for this old gentleman he would have picked up the phone to NHS Scotland and asked why he couldn't have his treatment at Inverclyde Royal, a mere 30 minutes away from his home. Indeed, I have instructed my advisers to contact NHS Scotland to ask that very question.
He added: 'Ross Greer needs to stop playing student politics and start living in the real world.
'Bus franchising is an outdated, expensive and unnecessary experiment that will take control away from people who understand how to run services efficiently and hand it to layers of council bureaucracy already under strain.
'Instead of asking why this man wasn't treated at a hospital just seven miles away in Greenock, Mr Greer used him as a pawn to score cheap political points. That's not leadership – it's opportunism.
'Scotland's bus services need investment, innovation and real partnership – not another Green vanity project funded by the taxpayer.
'The operation of Scotrail has cost nearly £600 million more in the first two years of nationalisation than it did under private control.
'Thanks to the actions of his party when they got their foot in the door of government, taxpayers are now facing the prospect of a £160million bill from legal action in the wake of the disastrous deposit return scheme.
'Every time the Greens get their hands on a public service, it ends in chaos and a massive bill. If Ross Greer gets his way on buses, the only thing arriving on time will be the invoice for Scotland's taxpayers.'
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