r/Glasgow Tools

Title
Author	eenbiertje
Comment	Won't retype everything here, but here's a thread on this very topic that I posted about a year ago (just prior to the Scottish Parliament passing the Transport Bill which now gives councils some powers to step in and control bus services). https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/bwqwtf/better_glasgow_transport_get_glasgow_moving/?utm_source=xpromo&utm_medium=amp&utm_name=amp_comment_iterations&utm_term=control_2&utm_content=post_num_comments&ampcid=1gf0yn0cidYW1wLWRZWGdiNkg5ZG5sUU9fTWJNUlN4d0E. Essentially - Thatcher govt effectively outlawed municipal ownership and control of bus services in the mid 80s. UK law has been unchanged since until very recently: some mayoral areas in England got recent opt outs in Westminster legislations; last year the Scottish parliament finally got round to repealing the relevant laws in its own Scottish Transport Bill. London always had an opt out in the 1980s law change, hence they were able to set up TfL in the 90s. Edinburgh got round it by having Lothian Buses being a very arm's length private company, which the council owned a share of. I don't really know the absolutely detail of this arrangement, and it's probable that someone else can explain it better. Anyway, cities apart from London have been screwed with bus de- regulation laws until very recently. Councils now have (limited) powers to intervene, so I'd recommend making your feelings known to your Councillor, and maybe also support the campaign group Get Glasgow Moving and their affiliates. Their 2 goals are for the council to either: Buy out First Bus's fleet (which there have been indications they may be interested to sell), and once again set up a proper municipally run bus service. * If this can't be done, revert to a franchise model, like how ScotRail runs. GCC sets the exact terms and conditions of being allowed to run Glasgow's buses, and First or Stagecoach or anyone else have to comply to retain the contract. This means GCC can mandate which routes are kept, route frequencies, participation in a proper multimodal ticketing system, even the livery the buses use (like how Abellio runs the trains, but they're all branded ScotRail, you could have a "Glasgow Buses" or "Transport for Glasgow" branding). The council seem warmer to the franchising idea. I think it's for all of us that are fed up with the transport (and particularly the bus) system to make our thoughts known. http://www.getglasgowmoving.org
Reddit Link	https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/i5aij1/how_can_we_make_life_difficult_for_first_bus/g0o796y/
Created	Fri 7th Aug 2020 1:45pm
Status	normal ()

Won't retype everything here, but here's a thread on this very topic that I posted about a year ago (just prior to the Scottish Parliament passing the Transport Bill which now gives councils some powers to step in and control bus services).

https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/bwqwtf/better_glasgow_transport_get_glasgow_moving/?utm_source=xpromo&utm_medium=amp&utm_name=amp_comment_iterations&utm_term=control_2&utm_content=post_num_comments&ampcid=1*gf0yn0*cid*YW1wLWRZWGdiNkg5ZG5sUU9fTWJNUlN4d0E.

Essentially - Thatcher govt effectively outlawed municipal ownership and control of bus services in the mid 80s. UK law has been unchanged since until very recently: some mayoral areas in England got recent opt outs in Westminster legislations; last year the Scottish parliament finally got round to repealing the relevant laws in its own Scottish Transport Bill.

London always had an opt out in the 1980s law change, hence they were able to set up TfL in the 90s.

Edinburgh got round it by having Lothian Buses being a very arm's length private company, which the council owned a share of. I don't really know the absolutely detail of this arrangement, and it's probable that someone else can explain it better.

Anyway, cities apart from London have been screwed with bus de- regulation laws until very recently. Councils now have (limited) powers to intervene, so I'd recommend making your feelings known to your Councillor, and maybe also support the campaign group Get Glasgow Moving and their affiliates.

Their 2 goals are for the council to either:

* Buy out First Bus's fleet (which there have been indications they may be interested to sell), and once again set up a proper municipally run bus service.

* If this can't be done, revert to a franchise model, like how ScotRail runs. GCC sets the exact terms and conditions of being allowed to run Glasgow's buses, and First or Stagecoach or anyone else have to comply to retain the contract. This means GCC can mandate which routes are kept, route frequencies, participation in a proper multimodal ticketing system, even the livery the buses use (like how Abellio runs the trains, but they're all branded ScotRail, you could have a "Glasgow Buses" or "Transport for Glasgow" branding).

The council seem warmer to the franchising idea. I think it's for all of us that are fed up with the transport (and particularly the bus) system to make our thoughts known.

http://www.getglasgowmoving.org