Calls are being made for a big shake-up of the public transport offering in Renfrewshire.
A campaign group is seeking support for their aims of persuading the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport to “reregulate” bus services in the region.
Don't miss the latest headlines from around Renfrewshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
Organised by Get Glasgow Moving, who have been campaigning for better public transport in Glasgow for years, the campaign will see a petition handed in to the SPT board calling out companies for rising bus ticket prices and demanding that SPT “reregulate” services in Glasgow and the former Strathclyde region, similar to the way things are done in London, and more recently, Manchester.
So far the petition has been signed by 3,600 people.
They say that not only would this mean they could reduce the cost of fares, but also make ticketing simpler, with a single-ticket system like those in the aforementioned locations.
On the petition page, a spokesperson for Get Glasgow Moving said: “Our regional transport authority, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), has new powers to re-regulate all bus companies in the region, similar to what happens in London and Manchester. SPT could also set-up a new publicly-owned bus company for our region, like in Edinburgh and Cardiff.
“We're calling on SPT to use the powers at their disposal to re-regulate bus services across Glasgow and the wider Strathclyde region so they can cut our fares to bring us in-line with other cities. This will also mean we can have one simple ticket that works across all transport modes, and caps fares to ensure passengers with connections are not penalised. This could work just like the Oyster card in London.
“It's vital that SPT uses these powers to address transport poverty and reduce the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on passengers now. High bus fares and poor services are pushing passengers away from public transport. If we are serious about addressing the climate emergency then our region needs to develop a public transport network that is fit for the 21st century.”
Get Glasgow Moving say we have some of the highest prices around, citing the news that all local and regional bus journeys in England and Wales are to be capped at £2 from this October.
In London, a single fare costs £1.65. In Edinburgh, it’s £1.85.
First Bus charges £2.65 a single for anybody travelling further than two stops in Glasgow and McGill’s charge £4.70 for a day ticket between Renfrewshire and Glasgow.
Further afield, in Germany, a monthly ticket for nine euros allows an unlimited number of trips on a vast swathe of its public transport network.
Last week, SPT published their draft version of the Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) for the west of Scotland, which details their aims and objectives for the next 15 years.
In it, they talk of “integration of public transport systems for ticketing, travel information, booking and payment activities across all public transport modes in the region including inter-regional connections where appropriate".
There are powers available to SPT and local authority partners contained in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 including bus franchising, local transport authority bus operation and enhanced information sharing of bus service data. Of this, SPT say: "SPT is committed to utilising the powers in the Act where there is a proven case to do so."
Get Glasgow Moving will be hoping to keep the pressure up on SPT with their campaign. They will be hosting a rally at 10am on September 30 at the SPT offices in St Vincent Street before handing the petition into SPT.
Download the FREE Renfrewshire Live app now for all the latest news, features and sport in your area. Available on both Android and Apple. Download here: smarturl.it/RenfrewLiveSocial
