Quality of local bus services are letting us down

It’s been exactly one year since free bus travel was opened up to everyone under the age of 22 and the scheme has changed the way young people travel for good.

Despite some early teething issues, one year on, over 60 per cent of young people now have the National Entitlement Card and can travel anywhere in Scotland on the bus for free.

Well over half a million young people are now using the scheme with over 40 million journeys taken so far.

It has boosted bus services too, especially given that bus patronage has in general been slow to return back to pre-pandemic levels.

Nowhere else in the UK has offered free travel to young people on this scale, it has been a ground breaking initiative and the results have been fascinating to watch.

As well as being a great way to save money, I’ve also seen how it has built up the confidence and independence of teenagers to use public transport.

Many young people from Callander, Killin, Aberfoyle, Balfron and the smaller villages feel isolated from each other and reliant on car lifts.

The card has given them the ability to hop on a bus and meet up easily; it’s developing a habit forming life skill that will help break future generation’s dependence on cars.

When the Greens first proposed free bus travel for under 22s we were inspired by the work of Callander Youth Project.

They showed how isolation in rural areas can deeply affect the happiness and chances that young people have, and how opening up free and better public transport can get people connected with each other and create fresh opportunities.

It’s still early days, but I’m hearing more stories about how this is now happening as a result of the scheme.

While the Under 22s scheme has been a resounding success, unfortunately the quality of the bus services that connect communities are in many cases letting us badly down.

Last weekend saw another Mcgills bus go up in smoke by the side of the road.

The burning Callanderstirling 59 bus left passengers, including a number of young people, stranded by the roadside. Parents were called into action to pick some of them up, while the excellent new City Link coach service swept up the rest.

The litany of problems with Mcgills buses that operate out of the Bannockburn and Balfron depots grows daily.

New drivers getting lost, services being cancelled without notification in advance, and leaking floors are just some of the problems that are dragging down confidence in our bus services.

With millions of pounds of public money going into directly supporting bus companies like Mcgills you would think they would be responsive to public concern and would be prepared to meet MSPS.

So far they have ignored repeated correspondence from myself about service issues.

Although Mcgills have inherited some awful buses from First Group last year, they now need to get a grip.

Running a public service means respecting customers and their representatives, I don’t see much evidence of either.

Running a public service means respecting customers