28 Nov 2023
Speaking at a Glasgow Talks public transport in the city event, three key figures in the public transport sector spoke about a new era of electric green vehicles and the full integration of bus services into the future Clyde Metro system. However, they all highlighted immediate concerns facing bus operators and ultimately passengers in the present day.
Duncan Cameron, Managing Director of First Bus Scotland, said citizens need to “value the bus”. One way of valuing the public services is to “get the bus out of congestion”.
He felt we needed to think and talk more strategically about road space allocation. He said more bus lanes and more bus priority are good for car drivers too. The bus firm boss said: “Put the bus in front of the car. Bus journey times would be quicker, fares would be cheaper, and more people would use them”, which he said would mean “less congestion for the existing car users that remain”.
Valerie Davidson, Chief Executive of SPT, voiced the frustration of bus passengers when she said: “We need to change the conversation.”
She said she is often “Sitting in a bus in a bus lane with a car or van in front of me. The bus can’t run if there’s a vehicle parked in the bus lane.”
Ms Davidson concluded: “We need to give road space and priority to public transport if we are to make it an attractive alternative.”
Fiona Doherty, Managing Director of Stagecoach West Scotland, also recognised the challenge facing bus operators and authorities trying to get people to switch from car to bus.
Even though Stagecoach is a commercial firm competing with other operators she said the “biggest competitor is the private car”.
She said: “We need to deal with congestion on our roads. If the choice is an hour and a half on the bus or 40 minutes in the car, people will often opt to take the car”.
Everyone wants their journey to be the quickest, uninterrupted and congestion-free, whether they are sitting in a car, a taxi or the bus.
The challenge for Glasgow city planners is to ensure that where there is priority afforded to public transport, it is in the right places and there is the right balance.
