Question reference: S6W-11119
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 22 September 2022
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Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 October 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review, and consider increasing, the sum of £74 million that has been allocated to the Community Bus Fund, in light of reports that the total cost of bus franchising in Manchester alone is estimated to be £200 million.
Answer
The Scottish Government introduced the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 to provide an enhanced suite of options for local transport authorities to improve bus services according to their local needs. Local Authorities now have the power to run their own bus services, and secondary legislation to enable bus franchising and partnership options will be introduced before the end of 2023.
It is important that the options within the Transport Act 2019 are fully explored to ensure they are appropriate for the area, and are sustainable for local authorities long term. As such, the Community Bus Fund aims to support local authorities to explore their powers under the Transport Act 2019, and enable options to be trialled on a smaller scale.