| Comment | The main barrier is the cost required to get back the rolling stock, from the discussions I've had with Unite (who represent both the drivers and manufacturers). The Transport Act 2019 allows any council to run a municipally owned service, but they're all still going for Bus Service Improvement Partnerships.
Honestly I think the political will is there with a lot of councillors - particularly Labour and Green ones and likely a number of SNP and Lib Dem ones, they just need an injection of a couple of million to get the buses back. One council just needs to be the first under this legislation to say "here's some cash - we're taking your buses and TUPEing your staff, now fuck off." and others will follow suit once they see it's possible.
So many skills in planning were lost to deregulation but that's not impossible to get back if enough local authorities get on board. Without wanting to focus too much on the Central Belt, since rural areas are far more reliant on buses as lifeline services, Glasgow could be the first and use SPT to coordinate it with others in the region, then bodies can follow. |
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