City’s public transport ‘ letting down’ the live music industry
SCOTLAND’S biggest events promoter claims the live music industry is being let down by poor publ ic transport – but said ticket sales are holding up in the cost- of- living crisis.
Geoff Ellis, from DF Concerts, hit out at the lack of late- night services when major events are on and slammed the early shutdown of Glasgow’s Subway on a Sunday.
He said young people used to being skint all the time were still partying regardless of the cost- ofliving crisis – but said the lack of night buses was dire and impacted staff as well as clubbers.
The chief executive, whose company owns King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow, said they want people to use public transport to stop road congestion.
DF Concerts had its busiest ever summer with 33 shows and more than a million tickets sold between June and August – generating £ 72.4 million for the economy.
Mr Ellis was speaking at a summit organised by the Night Time Industries Association ( NTIA) which represents music venue and nightclub operators.
The association heard widespread concerns about how a shortage of taxi drivers in Scotland’s city centres were affecting businesses.
Mr Ellis said: “When we’re doing major events, we want people to travel by public transport. It makes it easier because there is less congestion on the roads and it is also a lot more sustainable as well.
“But you need the services to be good and you need them to be running late. The underground stops running in Glasgow at 6pm on Sundays, which is ridiculous.
“For us to try to get extra carriages on trains is nigh on impossible.
“They always say that they need at least a year’s notice to get the rolling stock. If you give them two years, they still can’t do it.
“When people come away from a show at Hampden, the queues are huge at Mount Florida station because the trains are just not big enough. People can be waiting for ages.”
Mr Ellis said a nationwide shortage of taxi drivers was causing more problems for the nightclubbing sector than the music industry. He said: “Bus operators know with advance ticket sales for major events and bigger shows that if they put on special service they have a good chance of getting people onto them.
“The real challenge for nightclubs at the moment is over latenight buses and a shortage of cabs.
“But transport providers and local authorities have to work a lot harder to support the whole nighttime economy and not just promoters. It affects bars, restaurants and hotels, as well as people putting on events. It’s also about getting staff home after working late at night.”
Mike Grieve, chair of the NTIA in Scotland, said: “There are serious issues around transport and taxis at the moment the situation in all our cities is pretty grim.
“It is only right for us to ask for proper solutions. This doesn’t just affect the entertainment side of the night- time economy.
“It affects people who work through the night in all sorts of other environments.”
Mr Ellis insisted ticket sales were holding up well during the cost- of- living crisis so far. He said younger audiences were less affected because they were used to living on ‘ tight budgets’.
He said: “The obvious challenge now is the cost- of- living crisis. I think it’s the uncertainty as much as anything.
“From a concert- going point of view, people are still going out. “Glasgow has never seen as many outdoor concerts as it did this summer. We put two Shania Twain shows at the Hydro on sale the other day and they sold out within an hour. People are still spending money on tickets.
“It’s not all doom and gloom.
“But that’s not to say any of us can be complacent or shouldn’t be concerned.”