Help hardy Buddies net charity goal
Buddies who tried to put themselves in the shoes of the homeless for one night are in need of an extra boost ahead of the end of their fundraising period.
Thirteen selfless St Mirren fans spent the night out in the cold, sleeping without shelter as they attempted to generate a cash boost for organisations helping those living on the streets.
Organised by the St Mirren Charitable Foundation, the Saints Sleepout took place on a wet and windy Friday, March 22.
The participants - overseen by club stewards - laid down to kip inside the SMiSA stadium with nothing but a sleeping bag and a ground mat for comfort from 7pm until 7am the following day.
St Mirren Charitable Foundation CEO Gayle Brannigan told the Express it was a “great event” despite the weather not being kind to the participants.
She said “It was not the best weather and they’re really exposed.”
But that’s also part of the reason for doing the event, it’s not only to raise much needed funds, but also for those taking part to understand more closely the experience of being homeless and sleeping on the streets.
Gayle explained: “I’m very strict with the participants. Some organisations have done sleep outs and really, almost made a mockery of it because they turn it into kind of a festival feel, and you see people rocking up with inflatable mattresses, tents, music, and alcohol, and that’s not what it’s about, it’s not appropriate.
“Anybody who is sleeping out in Scotland is absolutely not sleeping like that, it’s not fun and laughs, and fair play to our participants, they all slept out in the open and it was pouring down and very windy and they just took it.”
The foundation’s donation kitty is currently sitting at around £4,000 but Gayle is hoping to reach their target of £5,000, the money raised will be split, with 50 per cent going to Shelter Scotland and the other 50 per cent going to the foundation.
Gayle said: “I think the work that Shelter Scotland do is absolutely outstanding and the levels of homelessness that we have now in Scotland is rapidly increasing year on year. It’s just such a wonderful organisation with the care that they give, the ethics that they have and the amount of community work they do around key social themes.
“There’s nothing more important than somebody having a home and roof over their head and there’s far too many children and families in Scotland living without that, so we do a lot to support them.”
Those willing and able to help the foundation reach their target have until Tuesday, April 30 to do so. They can donate to the fundraiser via the following link https://justgiving.com/ campaign/saintssleepout2024
Fair play to our participants, they all slept out and it was pouring down and windy, they just took it
Bus giant McGill’s has sought to discredit claims about the cost of bus franchising in Renfrewshire and the Strathclyde region.
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) last month revealed plans to proceed with a bus franchising model across the Greater Glasgow region in a bid to bolster a declining bus market.
The franchise approach would see SPT or an identified body set bus routes, fares and frequencies, with performance targets and customer feedback used to inform what operators are paid to run services.
SPT says it would take around £15million and between five and seven years to implement and around £45 to 85million per year thereafter.
The transport authority is currently consulting on the proposals, revealed as part of the Strathclyde Regional Bus Strategy (SRBS) Case for Change.
But McGill’s - owned by the billionaire Inverclyde businessmen Sandy and James Easdale - says the cost is being vastly underestimated as they seek to prevent the bus network being brought back under public control.
Last year the firm cut bus services in Renfrewshire by 13 per cent.
CEO Ralph Roberts said the figure could be close to £400m if factors such as infrastructure upgrades and efficiencies were taken into account.
“The more you dig into SPT’s franchising wish list, the more you see the iceberg below what they are revealing.
“At a high level they predict that the franchised network would deliver up to an additional 40m bus journeys per annum and would cost up to £85m per annum so that would cost a straightforward £2 per ride.
“This is broadly in line with current costs so no huge surprise.
“However, when you realise that the franchising wish list beyond the additional buses is going to cost significantly more money, you must then adjust the cost base of the entire operation.”
Mr Roberts suggested all other elements of the “wish list” however should be costed into the project and argued increasing the efficiency of the network would require infrastructure improvements at a cost of around £1.5billion alone.
He added: “To increase the affordability of the network – i.e. reduce fares – it costs more again and on it goes.
“The fares reduction alone would be in the order of £150m to £200m in cost per annum.
“Painting buses to all be the same colour would be an £8million cost for example.
“Totting up all of the qualitative costs on top of the network expansion, plus the amortisation of the huge one-off costs, means that a £400m additional cost per annum is actually a conservative estimate.”
An SPT spokesperson said the organisation was confident in its initial figures, adding: “The Strathclyde Regional Bus Strategy (SRBS) Case for Change unequivocally highlighted a need for reform to stem the sustained decline in the bus market.
“A public consultation on SPT’s recommended bus reform options, including franchising, as set out in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, is currently open.
“SPT encourages everyone with an interest in the future of bus to participate in this important consultation.
“The deadline for responding is midnight on Monday, May 31.”
You can access the consultation via the SPT website at: www. spt.co.uk/about-us/what-weare-doing/regional-transportstrategy/bus-strategy”
The more you dig into SPT’s franchising wishlist, the more you see the iceberg below what they are revealing