Transport chiefs rubbish SNP promise to bring buses under public control by 2031

Transport leaders have rubbished John Swinney’s promise to bring buses back under public control by 2031.

Holyrood’s Transport Committee was told the chances of franchising buses in the next five years were “slim to none”.

MSPs also heard the that the Scottish Government did not know how much money it would cost.

During his SNP conference speech in October, Mr Swinney promised to bring buses into public control through franchising and regulation.

The changes will allow regional transport partnerships to have more control over routes and fares on the bus network, without the Government having to actively own it.

Those within the industry have urged the First Minister to provide clarity over what public control means, while the owners of McGill’s have accused him of theft, comparing him to dictators Idi Amin and Robert Mugabe.

Jamie Ross, the new chief executive of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), appeared to reject the Scottish Government’s timeline for public control.

Asked if the First Minister could achieve his 2031 target, he said: “Not on the basis of the current legislation or the current guidance.

“We’ve obviously been looking at franchising for some time. Our current timeline would suggest that we get franchising if we progress with it, we get it under way in 2031, but potentially complete it after 2031.”

Mr Ross said the rest of the country achieving the target was “very slim” unless the legislation and process for achieving it was overhauled.

However, later said the target “could be realistic”, pointing to English regions in England who had achieved franchising within five years.

“If we were to get to the decision point by the end of next year then the 2031 target is eminently realistic,” he added.

Paul White, director of the trade association group the Confederation of Passenger Transport, said the possibility of meeting the 2031 target was “slim to none”.

He said it was the “wrong approach” for the Government to set a date before considering “all the parts of the process that have to be met to deliver that vision”.

He told the Transport Committee the Government’s plans lacked “clarity” and that achieving a “truncated timescale” like some areas in England was “questionable” under current Scottish Government plans.

Alison Irvine, chief executive of Transport Scotland, told the committee the agency did not have a figure for the set up cost of franchising.

Green MSP Iris Daune told the civil servant she found the admission “quite shocking”.

She admitted there would be “a number of difficult policy choices that are going to have to be made in order to give this the best effort that we possibly can to meet ministers’ ambitions for 2031”.

She said: “I think that we all recognise that public control, public ownership, doesn’t take you away from those difficult decisions around resources, where services should occur, and ultimately the timeframe within which all of this needs to be delivered.”

Asked if Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn had ignored her to go ahead with the 2031 deadline, she told committee convener Willie Rennie: “I think that’s probably a question you would be better asking the minister.”

She told MSPs she recognised the “enormity of the challenge”.

She said: “Transport Scotland has been set ambitious target to bring about major bus reform across the whole of Scotland, working with the constituent parts of the country, and that’s the job we’ve been asked to do and, despite what others might say, we do have quite a good reputation for delivering stuff.”

The Transport Scotland chief said ministers were not asking her to “impose anything” on Scottish regions.

“I think I’m being asked to provide a framework in which public control of bus services by 2031 is deliverable for local authorities and local transport,” said Ms Irvine.

Mr Rennie said: “Everything I’m getting, the vibe is, it’s not going to get done by 2031.”