Bus company slams MSP over Glasgow franchising proposal

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

The MSP running for Green co-leader is calling for bus services to be brought back into public ownership to improve reliability and meet community needs.
However, according to figures obtained by McGill's, the move could cost the public purse up to £400 million every year – without adding a new service.
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The cost for public control of bus services in Manchester is currently more than £220million per annum.
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.
(Image: PA) 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'Bus franchising is an outdated, expensive and unnecessary experiment that will take control away from people who understand how to run services efficiently and hand it to layers of council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.'
Ross Greer and the Scottish Greens have been contacted for comment.