Parliament Workbench

Petition · PE01626 · Session 5

Regulation of Bus Services

Closed Submitted 28 Oct 2016 Transport
Signatures
0
1,705 online signatures with a country
Comments
229
Considered
7 meetings
in the Official Report

What it asks

Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to legislate to regulate bus services in Scotland and to carry out an inquiry into the benefits of bringing bus services in Scotland into common ownership.

What the petitioner did first

In the Fourth Scottish Parliament, Unite supported the proposed Bus Regulation (Scotland) Bill brought to Parliament by Iain Gray MSP.
In the Third Scottish Parliament, Unite supported the proposed Regulation of Bus Services Bill brought to Parliament by Charlie Gordon MSP.
Neither of these bills resulted in legislation to bring bus services under regulation or common ownership.

Where it was considered

Official Report
  1. 19 Jan 2017
    Public Petitions Committee
    New Petitions
    1 mention
  2. 27 Apr 2017
    Public Petitions Committee
    Continued Petitions
    1 mention
  3. 29 Jun 2017
    Public Petitions Committee
    Continued Petitions
    1 mention
  4. 21 Dec 2017
    Public Petitions Committee
    Continued Petitions
    2 mentions
  5. 26 Apr 2018
    Public Petitions Committee
    Continued Petitions
    1 mention
  6. 21 Mar 2019
    Public Petitions Committee
    Continued Petitions
    1 mention
  7. 17 Feb 2021
    Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee
    Petitions
    2 mentions

Signatures by country

1,705 online signatures
  1. Scotland1,239 72.7%
  2. United Kingdom417 24.5%
  3. England45 2.6%
  4. United States2 0.1%
  5. United States Minor Outlying Islands1 0.1%
  6. Wales1 0.1%

Comments

229 comments, oldest first
229 comments · showing 1–50
  1. Jamie Caldwell 8 Nov 2016
    We need buses back into public ownership. Private Bus services don't work,
  2. Brian Broadley 8 Nov 2016
    Live in a rural area regular user of buses. service is deplorable. Recent 30 mile round trip to deliver a document took three and a half hours.
  3. Stewart Daniels 8 Nov 2016
    Busses are better publickly owned
  4. James Swan 9 Nov 2016
    Buses should be a service for people
  5. AMANDA BROWN 9 Nov 2016
    GIVE POWER BACK TO THE PEOPLE
  6. yvonne whiteford 9 Nov 2016
    we desperately need to get rid of first bus
  7. Una Walker 10 Nov 2016
    Bring buses under local control
  8. Fariha Thomas 10 Nov 2016
    Public transport should be for the benefit of the public, not for private profits. we need buses to be regulated so that they can meet the public's needs
  9. Jimmy Cloughley 10 Nov 2016
    this is the right road to go
  10. M Gallacher 10 Nov 2016
    We need buses back into public ownership. Private Bus services are far too expensive. Pounds before people is their attitude
  11. Colin davidson 10 Nov 2016
    Rich get richer the poor have to walk
  12. Jenny Douglas 10 Nov 2016
    In Dundee pensioners and others are basically unable to leave or get to their homes after 6pm. Workers cannot get to work early in the morning. And for those in rural Perthshire it is impossible to get to Ninewells hospital where patients are usually taken. Enough is enough, people before profit, buses need to be taken back into public control. If profits can be made which obviously they are this could be reinvested into improving transport.
  13. Phil Kirshner 10 Nov 2016
    Bus deregulation was always predicted to be a disaster when it was implemented in 1986. The bus companies are allowed to cherry pick the financially lucrative routes and leave local authorities to subsidise the socially necessary routes using public money which is paid to the very same bus companies. The reality of Thatcherism and Tory idiology.
  14. Maurice Frank 10 Nov 2016
    Change of operator on the 63 Gyle-South Queensferry was a good example of a council intervention on a supported route, which I was part of the local pressure for. Let's have that as the model for regulation, and not the old monolithic National companies that covered much of Britain until 1986.
  15. Lisa Montgomery 10 Nov 2016
    I finish work at 4.45pm and I don't get home until after 5.30pm due to the ridiculous bus times & lack of them. If I drove it would take me 10 mins in a car, but I don't drive & the road between both town is a country road with little or no footpaths
  16. Willie Lawson 11 Nov 2016
    Nationalise the buses and the trains to run for the people not for profit
  17. Connor Beaton 11 Nov 2016
    Public services should be run for people, not for profit. Public ownership of buses would bring down fares, and eventually open the way for introducing free public transport
    - a measure tried and tested in many European and US cities which supports families on low incomes and helps people move from expensive and environmentally-damaging cars onto public transport.
  18. Sheila Bryce 11 Nov 2016
    If we lose our bus it means that pensioners (of which most of this village is) will have to walk 8mls round trip for doctors, pensions and food. Its bad enough that they cut the service and now we cant get to hospital appointments without take two or three busses.
  19. Lesley Frame 11 Nov 2016
    The bus service in my area is appalling. I live 8 miles from Glasgow Cross but it takes about 1.5hrs to get there by bus. Therefore I don't use the bus. Also East Kilbride does not have any connection to Buchanan Bus station, unlike other Lanarkshire towns. There are really poor connections within the town to get to the hospital. All the buses go the same way. Again I live just over 1 mile from Hairmyres Hospital but would require 2 buses. This doesn't even address going between Lanarkshire hospitals. Again all the buses go the same route. Finally there are poor connections for the whole town to use the bus to get to either of the train stations. This is why people still have to use a car. In essence, the bus service does not provide a decent, comprehensive service for the whole of the town.
  20. Peter Mabon 11 Nov 2016
    We need better bus services, I'm in Kilmarnock and have seen our services cut, cut, cut, especially the smaller services that don't make much profit.
    Pensioners and the disabled really need their transport links.
    Regulate the buses now.
  21. Robert. Thomson 12 Nov 2016
    Keep in public ownership
  22. Stephen Quigley 12 Nov 2016
    I'm sick of using First buses here in Falkirk but I have no other option because they killed off virtually all competition from independent operators! I want our buses back into public hands! Privatisation is not progress!
  23. Liam ferguson 12 Nov 2016
    My local services have been decimated over the years and I've never been consulted or informed until the negative changes are posted at the bus stop.
  24. Laurence Eccles 13 Nov 2016
    I think most people would agree that it is morally reprehensible for private companies to be making a profit from providing an essential public service.
  25. David Eyre 14 Nov 2016
    In my area of East Lothian, First Bus decided to pull out with just six weeks notice. If it hadn't been for the publicly-owned Lothian Buses coming in to set up new services, we would have been in real bother. Now the fares are cheaper, the buses are better and we're getting a late night service. Buses should be regulated, but they should also be in common ownership.
  26. Ken Budd 15 Nov 2016
    Next stop, bringing the rail service back into public ownership
  27. Marie Pearce 15 Nov 2016
    Don't let older people be prisoners in their homes if there is no decent public transport.
  28. David Mackenzie 16 Nov 2016
    Why does everything have to be privatised
  29. Alex Stewart 16 Nov 2016
    I can't remember the last time I used the public bus services due to the unreliability of services, the frequency of buses, the route number changes and most importantly the cost of journeys! I have purchased a small car and now drive everywhere I need to go, I get there on time and when I want and the cost over the years that I have been doing this has actually been more cost efficient, reliable and time saving! I will Never use public service buses again until they change things for the better! Come on "HAUD THE BUS"
  30. Elaine Legget 16 Nov 2016
    As someone who relies on the bus services to get from A to B I am very happy to support this petition
  31. James Hart 16 Nov 2016
    the no:4 bus no longer runs here in Aberdeen causing dificulty in traveling direct.
  32. john matthews 16 Nov 2016
    its first bus that need to stop running family companys of the road. s.n.p need to put money in to it and make a praivite company ran bye them
  33. David Kelly 16 Nov 2016
    Worst thing they did was privatise the buses. If we want to reduce pollution we need more buses so we can use our cars less.
  34. Ian McArthur 16 Nov 2016
    There's a real need for the bus services to be regulated, the bus service to the village I stay in is dread. One an hour and it stops at 10 to 6 in the evening, when I was younger it ran till after 11, now, unless you drive up here you're stranded here till after 6 the next morning.
  35. Kevin Mchale 16 Nov 2016
    This is just like the railways put them into private hands and these companies are not interested in people .
  36. Kenny Moore 16 Nov 2016
    In Edinburgh we have the best bus service in Scotland and it must be protected.
  37. Robert Lennox 16 Nov 2016
    Bring back the buses please
  38. Jacqueline Hunter 16 Nov 2016
    Fife is dominated by Stagecoach whose bus services are dreadful, very expensive and do not always turn up whereas at other times they're utterly unpredictable due to how late they run. Government, please do something!!!
  39. Kevin Singleton 16 Nov 2016
    I am a first glasgow inspector and in my opinion regulation is a must I have no doubts about that, we have to provide a better and more frequent service for our customers
  40. Bruce Javes 16 Nov 2016
    A public service should benefit, and be accountable to, the public. End of.
  41. Lesley Cochrane 16 Nov 2016
    In Renfrewshire McGill's are the main bus company and they are forever pulling buses from scheduled routes especially the 757 Glasgow airport bus. Their drivers are also adept at cheating conncession card holders that have a companion card by charging for concession and companion when there is only a concession passenger travelling.
  42. John Taylor 16 Nov 2016
    We need to keep the bus service for the community.
  43. James Brown 16 Nov 2016
    I live in West Lothian where First Bus have a monopoly. They run services to suit themseves or not. We cannot depend on the bus service in our area.
  44. ilona brandwijk 16 Nov 2016
    I think it is important that the government understands that not everyone has a car and that they need to make a stand against those companies, such as first bus, to tell them if they will not provide a good service for those dependent on that, for both going to work as personal use, they will have to pay back the subsidies. especially the cutbacks in rural areas is absurd and beyond comprehension
  45. Henry Dumigan 16 Nov 2016
    I fully support this petition
  46. Elizabeth Marr 16 Nov 2016
    Private companies rob the public.
  47. alan sidaway 16 Nov 2016
    I am in my mid 70's and get fed up waiting for buses that never come
  48. Scott Craig 16 Nov 2016
    Public transport should never be in the private sector.
  49. Edith Grant 16 Nov 2016
    I have spoken to a lot of people who have kids are on low income are struggling to pay bus fares as it has increased. The Lothian buses and other bus companys are more concerned about there profits, not for the public in Scotland .
  50. douglas caven 16 Nov 2016
    Just recently Stagecoach buses in Dumfries going to Glasgow and return have decided to put in buses not suitable for disabled people as all seats are upstairs bar 2. Not suitable for wheelchair users or people with walking disabilities. What can be done?