Scotland's buses "in chaos" as passenger total slumps to a near-record low

Bus journeys have fallen in Scotland apart from Edinburgh, where main operator Lothian Buses reached a record 121 million in 2015

Buses still account for three-quarters of public transport journeys, but passenger numbers fell to 409 million in 2015-16 compared to the most recent peak of 487m in 2007-08.

This includes the total went down by 5m since the last annual figures were published.

The union, which is campaigning for buses to be returned to public control

Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty said: “These numbers show the Scottish Government is failing bus passengers.

“Without bus regulation, we will continue to have a free-for-all where the only thing that matters is profit – with people and passengers just being the mugs who pick up the tab.

“Scotland’s bus services are in a mess. The public are paying more and more both in fares and in the amount of subsidy they are giving to the bus companies.

"But the service they are getting continues to become worse and worse.”

Friends of the Earth Scotland air pollution campaigner Emilia Hanna said: “The bus sector in Scotland is in dire straits, with only Edinburgh bucking the trend of decline.

“Rural services are being cut, urban services are often confused and don’t link up well as a network, and fares continue to increase at the expense of those who depend on the bus.

“Buses are a big part of the solution to air pollution and the Scottish Government urgently needs to reform how buses are regulated to make it easier for local authorities to operate functioning bus networks which work in the public interest rather than try to join up piecemeal services.”

Colin Howden, director of sustainable transport campaigners Transform Scotland, said: “It’s very worrying to see this year-on-year decline in bus use.

“Buses play an important role in reducing congestion in urban areas and providing services to lower-income groups who often don’t have access to cars.

“It’s deeply disappointing the Scottish Government continues to cut investment in bus services - government funding has reduced by 5 per cent over the past five years, and this week’s Parliamentary debate on the Scottish Budget looks set to agree a further 3 per cent cut in bus investment over the next year.

“The Government should instead be taking action to cut congestion by putting in place bus priority in urban areas, and protecting threatened rural bus services.”

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Mike Rumbles said: “The number of people using buses has dropped dramatically, as has the number of buses and journeys available to people.

“That means more traffic on our roads, less investment in public transport and missed targets on climate change.”