r/Glasgow Tools

Hey, I'm a legit Glasgow transport / history nerd, if there's something you specifically want to know, ask away or hit me up with a PM.

Quick summary of my thoughts:

General network coverage in Glasgow is actually very, very good. Despite some notable areas without reliable transport links (Castlemilk, Easterhouse are two examples often raised, rightly), the city has extremely extensive bus and rail networks. We have a subway, which seems like an obvious thing to Glaswegians, but we are only one of three UK cities which have one. As limited as it is, it serves an amazing job in connecting different sides of the city, and different transport hubs (Govan, Partick, Glasgow Queen Street / Central) together.

Could the subway serve the city better? Sure. But we're lucky to have it. Many cities of comparable size across the world don't have one. It does a good, if limited job for the city.

I say extensive bus and rail *networks*, emphasis on the plural.

As is obvious to anyone that lives here for more than a week, we have around half a dozen private bus companies operating a huge range of routes across the city. This in part comes from the fact that they serve different populations. McGills primarily serves Renfrewshire, but leaks into the West / SW of Glasgow. Stagecoach do regional / long haul, but do a few notable and essential local services, seemingly at random across the city. First might be considered the primary city bus service, but, as I say, they obviously don't serve every route.

This all comes down to the changes to public transport law in the UK in the 1980s. The UK government's 1986 Transport Bill made it effectively illegal for council areas to run their own bus systems, as was the norm up to this point. Existing systems had to be privatised and fragmented, opened to the market. Prior to this there were various incarnations of Glasgow-wide transport companies, which ran buses and more: Glasgow Corporation Transport, and SPTE, who ran "Trans-Clyde" transport. SPT is an inheritor body to this.

Anyway, we're in a situation where because the bus system is fragmented, fares rise *steeply* if you need to use multiple bus companies, never mind multiple *modes* of transport.

This is just weird, as large European cities go. Frustrating too. In nearly every major European city, there is an option to buy a single far cross-modal ticket to get from A to B. In Glasgow this isn't possible, and it's all down to the fragmentation caused by this law change in the 80s.

The Scottish Parliament eventually did repeal *some* aspects of this by passing the long discussed Scottish Transport Bill last summer. It gives cities the means to franchise out their bus networks - a little like Scotrail does with the Scottish rail network, setting the terms and having international companies bid to be the operators (Abellio currently, though not for much longer).

Glasgow could set the rules for the bus network (fare limits, minimum service frequencies, mandatory routes, mandatory opt-in to multi-modal ticketing, etc.), and bus companies then bid to operate the service, perhaps even under "Glasgow Transport" livery.

This is possible. Just need Glasgow to be one of the first in Scotland to use its new powers.

I could talk loads more about the city's transport issues and opportunities (we have *loads* going for us, and loads of little tweaks that could be made to maximise the existing infrastructure). Maybe something for you worth reading is the recent Glasgow Connectivity Commission Report from last year: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/connectivitycommission

It was a body of experts set up by the new council administration to investigate options and opportunities for building a solid comprehensive transport system for the city. The report is interesting reading, with headline suggestions being a "metro" network incorporating new tram lines and disused rail infrastructure. It also makes the case for mandatory multi-modal ticketing across all transport in the city, and the setting up of a "Transport for Glasgow" type body to oversea *all* transport in the city.

Anyway, as I say this is my pet subject and could prattle on about this for ages more.

TL;DR - city has loads going for it transport-wise. Fragmented system is main problem, but this can be tackled soon.