As a regular bus user with my two young children, I know first-hand what works and what doesn't. I welcomed the Scottish Government's £2 bus fare cap today - but called for it to be implemented fairly, so that passengers who need to change buses don't end up paying more than those with direct routes

Full text from the debate:

I am a regular bus user; I frequently bus across north Glasgow and beyond with my two young children. Buses are an essential part of my day-to-day life, as they are for many of my constituents. I see what works well, but I am also well aware that improvements must be made, for example in the provision of evening or Sunday services on some routes, in parts of the bus network where there are clear gaps in provision, or in relation to capacity issues, such as when a single-decker bus arrives at peak times when double-deckers are required. Can you get a seat? Can a parent with a pram or a disabled traveller with a power-assisted wheelchair navigate on to a bus? Of course, there are also issues regarding reliability.

For balance, bus passengers, including me, do not tend to highlight when our bus services run well—and they do run well at times. There are occasions when buses are on time and the service is efficient and of high quality. We want to encourage more people to use buses, not fewer. However, we remember the occasions when we feel let down by the bus service.

On a positive note, affordability issues for those who use the bus have been eliminated for those who are under 22, by and large, and for those who are over 60. Our Scottish Government has put in place a substantial financial model under which it is free for those groups to use all services in Scotland—a model that I hope to return to later.

Concessionary bus travel has been a significant success, but it is a job that is only partially done. If a person is over 21 and under 60, bus journeys will not feel like good value. A few stops on a First Glasgow bus will cost £2.45, and it is only a few stops; most single journeys are £3.25. I therefore strongly welcome our Scottish Government’s commitment to a £2 cap price for bus fares in Glasgow. That will make a real difference in our city, but it needs to be carefully implemented.

Many bus users cannot take a single bus service to where they wish to go. Often, bus users will be required to change buses to reach their end destination. At times, four, as opposed to two, tickets will be required, with a change in the city centre or elsewhere to make the return journey that passengers require. That would cost £8 under a capped-fare system. Many commuters in our city rely instead on a First day ticket, which costs £6.30, to make such journeys. That would mean that a capped-fare system would cost those whose bus journeys require changes considerably more in comparison with those who have direct end-to-end routes, so there could be an inequality there. I urge that arrangements should be made with bus companies to ensure that those who require to change buses in such circumstances do not lose out.

After all, public money that is pumped into bus operators must be used for the public good. Indeed, it is anticipated that, in the current financial year, the budget to be invested in bus services is £528 million—I will say that again: £528 million—and £472.8 million for concessionary travel. There is a lot of money in the system, but the financial model needs reviewed to see whether it is working as well as it could for the public good. I am sure that SPT, which is continuing to develop its bus franchising model for Strathclyde, would be particularly interested to see how it could use that money in the Strathclyde area.

We also need to look at the relationship between the reimbursement rate for concessionary travel, which is 52.9 per cent of a single journey, and the cost of a single journey. There is an incentive in the system for bus companies to increase the price of a single journey, because their reimbursement for concessionary travel is directly linked to it.

In closing, I welcome the £2 bus cap, and I look forward to franchising—I hope—in Strathclyde, which will require partnership funding with the Scottish Government. We have to use the massive amount of money that has already been invested by the public in the system in a way that works much better for the public good.