FOLLOWING the outcry over First Bus’s scrapping of Glasgow’s night bus services, a new deal has been struck to reboot the after-midnight routes in partnership with the other city operator, McGill’s.
Emergency talks between First Bus, McGill’s, SPT and Glasgow City Council, came up with a plan that will now see nine of the 11 threatened services operated jointly by First Bus and McGill’s Group, with First operating four of the routes between 12.45am and 3am on Friday and Saturday nights, and McGill’s taking on the other five routes.
While this transportation reprieve has been warmly welcomed, its architects have stressed that it must not be seen as a ‘job done’ moment, as Glasgow’s night-time economy is still very much under threat and in need of official support.
Chairman of McGill’s Group, James Easdale, said: “From speaking to passengers and business owners, there is substantial concern regarding Glasgow city centre and its ability to attract people and investment in order that it can prosper for the next decade and beyond.
“McGill’s has listened and stepped up with these new services that we would hope to add to in future. Civic leaders need to ensure they are providing a long-term a strategy that encourages public transport use and makes it easier for operators such as ourselves to deliver better services for passengers,” said Mr Easdale.
First Bus had justified its decision to scrap the night services by highlighting falling passenger numbers after midnight. The company’s own data suggested that, post-pandemic, people are going home earlier, with more than 2500 extra people catching the bus between 10.30pm and midnight on Friday and Saturday nights than they had previously.
But another issue was its own chronic shortage of drivers, and First Bus argued that it needed to deploy its available staff to bolster services running at times when there was real public demand.
Under the new deal with McGill’s, First Bus warned that it was ‘stretching’ its staff resource as far as it would go, but expressed hope that the positive move would prompt other stakeholders, as well as politicians and other transport providers, to support local businesses and find a way forward for the city’s night-time economy.
For its part, McGill’s indicated that it intends to build upon its initial night-time provision to extend the service beyond two nights a week.
CEO Ralph Roberts added: “McGill’s Group has been in discussions with Glasgow businesses to understand the issues they have been facing with transport and we have also deployed our management and staff overnight to the city centre to examine what measures Glasgow City Council could take on roads and streets to help buses deliver a better service for passengers.
“Our intention is to build our night-time services in future and work with the council and businesses to help achieve that. There will be a range of ticket options available on nighttime services, including discounts for regular users and McGill’s ticket holders, and we will announce more details on that shortly.”
