Glasgow night bus services to be axed because of a lack of passengers

First Bus has announced it is bringing Glasgow’s night service to an end, citing poor passengers numbers as the reason.

The bus operator monitored how many people were using the night buses, but found that as few as four people per hour were using the service.

The First Bus Glasgow branch said it ran the service despite facing significant losses.

The closure of the night bus service is to take effect at the end of the month, and will impact 11 routes including Clydebank, Paisley, East Kilbride, Hamilton, Motherwell, Wishaw and Newton Mearns.

Drivers of the night bus service are to keep their jobs, but will be redeployed on daytime buses.

First Bus commercial director, Graeme Macfarlan, 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.”

The move was criticised by Poverty Alliance, who said people living below the poverty line will be hit the hardest.

Director Peter Kelly said: “This announcement is completely unjust and will hit Glaswegians on low incomes the hardest – people who work nightshifts and early shifts in the kind of jobs that are already undervalued.

“This is another example of our vital bus networks being run by companies who put profit over public service.

“These companies get around 55% of their income direct from the public purse, and a huge chunk of the rest from the pockets of people on the lowest incomes, who are struggling the most during the costs crisis.

“These services should be accountable to those who rely on them most.

“It doesn’t have to be like this. The Scottish Government can fund free bus travel for people who need it most – and get everyone aboard on the road to a freer, fairer, greener Scotland.

“And, to get the most impact from that social investment, they can properly fund and support local councils and community transport providers to use the powers of the Transport Act, so they can run their own bus services and return to treating buses as a basic public good.”