Decades old with squealing brakes.. the fleet

Many of the buses in the fleets used to transport schoolchildren across Scotland are decades old.

With widespread cost cutting at local authorities and competition for tenders, scores of operators use older vehicles on the twice-daily runs.

One long-time operator admitted to the Sunday Mail: “The buses are safe enough and have passed safety tests. But it costs £250,000 for a new bus. That’s why we all use old buses.”

Last week, the Sunday Mail watched buses leave two depots to do their school runs.

The squeal of brakes could be heard from some of the elderly vehicles leaving JJ Travel’s yard in Coatbridge.

One of the buses had an H registration plate, meaning it is 27 years old. Another had a K plate, making it 24.

At the nearby depot of Essbee Coaches, it was a similar story.

Our investigators spotted one 26-year-old vehicle transporting pupils.

The Volvo bus was first used by Blackburn Transport in 1991 before being bought by another Scottish company in 2005 then used by ScotRail. It was then snapped up by another Scottish coach firm, before finally ending up at Essbee’s, where it is used for the school run.

Another vehicle on duty last week was 19 years old.

An insider said: “Some of buses are almost 30 years old.

“Hackney style cabs have to be 15 years old or younger and private cars can be no more than eight