Bus franchising offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring our region’s bus network back into public control, for the first time since buses were deregulated and privatised in the ’80s and ’90s.
This would enable our regional transport authority – SPT – to plan bus routes to meet our communities’ needs, to connect seamlessly with trains, Subway and active travel, and to cut fares and deliver integrated ticketing across all transport modes – just like Transport for Greater Manchester is now doing with its new ‘Bee Network’.
But the process of franchising buses in Scotland is painfully slow.
Firstly, because it has taken the Scottish Government more than five-and-a-half years to enact the franchising powers created in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 – these finally come into force today, 10 June 2025, with the passing of the last regulations.
And secondly, because now that they are finally available, the Scottish bus franchising powers will be the most complex and time-consuming in the UK for transport authorities to use.
That’s why, alongside our (now successful) campaign to demand that SPT makes plans to take forward bus franchising, we are running a parallel campaign at the Scottish Parliament.
Our new petition to “Accelerate the implementation of bus franchising powers” demands that MSPs help to speed up the process, and that they support SPT to be the first transport authority in Scotland to roll-out bus franchising – just like Transport for Greater Manchester has been in England, providing a blueprint for others to follow.
Our new research – visualised in ‘The Long Road to Bus Franchising’ graphic above – shows just how long it will take until we see franchised buses on the streets of Scotland. And, the extent to which we now lag behind the rest of the UK – highlighting the progress of five (of the many) English city regions that our now ploughing ahead with bus franchising.
Under the current franchising legislation – as set out in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 – it will be 2030 at the earliest before SPT can actually roll-out their bus franchising plans.
And there is a risk that SPT may never even get there. Because, before they get final approval, SPT must face the additional scrutiny of a so-called ‘independent panel’ convened by the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland – an unelected official appointed by the UK Government!
This is a completely unnecessary step, which no longer exists in the equivalent franchising legislation in England, as set out in their Bus Services Act 2017.
Our petition demands that the panel approval process is removed, by introducing a simple Bill to the Scottish Parliament to amend the Scottish legislation in line with England’s now tried-and-tested Bus Services Act 2017.
This should be done over the next three years, whilst SPT are still developing their bus franchising plans, to help support the process.
If you would like to find out more, please read our evidence presented to the Scottish Parliament’s Citizen Participation & Public Petitions Committee:
