Mid Scotland and Fife MSP has raised a motion and written
to Minister for Transport, , raising constituents’
concerns on high bus fares and the disparity of bus fares across
the country.
The letter comes after a constituent contacted Mr Rowley sharing
a response from their SNP constituency MSP who suggested paying 6% of a
full-time minimum wage salary for travel was not a problem.
The Scottish Labour MSP recently raised the same issue with the
Minister for Transport directly during portfolio questions at the
Scottish Parliament in February.
Mr Rowley used the example of his own commute to his regional
office in Lochgelly which he said could take up to an hour longer
than his usual ten-minute drive and cost a minimum of £6.50
return if travelling by bus.
In a motion raised in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Rowley wrote
that “high fares are compounding the pressures of the
cost-of-living crisis” and that decisions on routes offered by
bus services were being made on “profitability rather than public
need”.
Commenting, Mr Rowley said:
“It is a bit concerning that I have to point out to the Scottish
Government in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis they at least
appear to be aware of that it may be a bit out of touch to
suggest to constituents that £98 per month is an acceptable
outlay for short journeys.
“Yet that was the message my constituent received from their
constituency MSP when they made contact on what they called
‘extortionate cost of bus fares’.
“Bus fares are a post code lottery at the moment – if you’re
lucky enough to live in Edinburgh, you will get the benefit of
publicly-owned and reliable bus routes across the city but in my
region, the same cannot be said unfortunately.
“I raised this directly with the Minister for Transport in
February and I am raising it again – there is nothing fair about
bus fares across Scotland at the moment and radical action must
be taken to start running buses as a public service for the
benefit of the public.
“Scottish Labour is committing to an immediate expansion of free
bus travel to under-25s with the longer-term goal of universal
free bus travel.
“I have asked the Minister to tell me what radical action the
Scottish Government is willing to take to kickstart the
completely achievable goal of greater bus usage.
“As I have said many times, now more than ever we need to
encourage the public to ditch the car and use greener transport
options like buses to achieve our climate targets.
“With the added problem of the cost-of-living crisis, free bus
travel would be a small step to alleviating one cost pressure and
offer an opportunity of freedom for many on low-incomes – it
could be the difference between attending a job interview, being
able to take on a new employment opportunity or visiting a loved
one.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
Motion Number: S6M-04313
Lodged By:
Date Lodged: 09/05/2022
Title: Bus Provision Disparity Across
Scotland
Motion Text:
That the Parliament is deeply concerned by reports of disparity
in bus provision across the country; considers that high fares
are compounding the pressures of the cost of living crisis;
believes that unreliable services create a barrier to the public
being able to make the change to bus travel from driving;
considers that the nature of certain bus services being run
privately leads to decisions on routes offered being made on the
basis of profitability rather than public need; believes that
Scotland's bus system is currently unfair, due to what it
considers is disparity in the service offered between
publicly-owned and privately-owned providers; considers that
greater transition to public transport usage is essential to
meeting the climate targets it believes are required to avoid
catastrophic climate change; believes that all that can be done,
must be done to this end, and further believes that bus services
should be run as a public service, for the public good, at an
affordable price.
