Paisley is set to be hit by another cut to bus services in the area.
First Bus has announced that they are withdrawing all night bus services from Glasgow just one year after reintroducing them. This will affect the N9 that travels between Glasgow city centre and Paisley.
The route brings late-night revellers back home on Saturday and Sunday mornings, as well as shift workers. It is one of 11 night bus routes operated by First Bus that will be scrapped from July 31.
First Bus said a 12-month review of numbers on their services showed buses were not carrying large amounts of passengers, with some regularly operating with just 14 people on board per hour.
Graeme Macfarlan, commercial director at First Bus Scotland, said: “We were delighted to be able to reintroduce our night bus network last June in an attempt to support the city’s night-time economy.
“Despite a wide variety of efforts by First Glasgow and partner organisations to increase the number of people using the night buses, it has not reached the level required to sustain these services beyond July.
“To do so, we would require the number of people using them each weekend to treble overnight, which is not realistic.
“We really wanted to give these services every chance to succeed which is why we have absorbed the operating losses for the last 12 months. It has become clear, however, given the change in behaviour and times people are going out in the city at the weekend, there is not enough appetite in Glasgow for night bus services to successfully operate into the early hours.”
First Bus said the drivers who deliver the night bus services will be redeployed into the daytime network.
It’s another reduction in the availability of public transport for Buddies, with McGill’s Buses also making cuts to services in May this year.
The 64 Gallowhill bus, which loops the estate, was removed; the 22 Paisley to Erskine bus was slashed entirely and services on the 17 Foxbar to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and 32 Kilbarchan route were vastly reduced.
West Scotland Labour MSP Neil Bibby said: “These cuts will come as a further blow to bus users. Many people rely on the night bus service for work and caring purposes, as well as those requiring to get home safely after a night out.
“It is not good enough for the Scottish Government to sit idly by while our bus services are decimated. The reality is that Scotland’s bus market is broken, and needs fundamental reform.
“Labour has a plan to save Scotland’s buses. We need no more blank cheques for private operators, who are paid by the Scottish taxpayer to run a public service. They shouldn’t be cutting services without repercussions.
“We need a cap on bus fares to get people back on the buses. Labour mayors have capped fares at £2 in Manchester and Liverpool – why not in the West?
“And it’s time to bring local buses under local control. The Scottish Government must provide local transport authorities with the powers and resources to run buses as a public service, not for private profit.”
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