Greens will use ‘bus bond’ scheme to end failed privatisation
The Scottish Greens have pledged to end decades of failed bus privatisation, with plans to take more buses under public control. One way they will do this is by giving people the chance to invest in local services through the introduction of Scottish Bus Bonds.
Public ownership of bus services would end the scandal of private bus companies raking in millions in public subsidies while passengers are left with rising fares and worsening services.
It is part of a bold package of policies to overhaul services across Scotland, including free bus travel for all and investment in community-owned services.
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay said:
“Bus privatisation has failed communities all across Scotland. It has meant higher fares, fewer routes and a broken and fragmented system where companies can cherry-pick profitable services while leaving passengers and councils to pick up the pieces.
“The Scottish Greens will finally end the failed Thatcherite experiment for good. We will bring our buses back under public control and give local people a proper say over the routes and services they rely on.
“Our bus bond scheme is one way that we would support communities in making their own bids, letting people take a meaningful stake in the services that they rely on.
“The bus companies have had it too easy for too long. They have been allowed to hike fares, and cut routes while raking in vast public subsidies, meanwhile large parts of the country have been left with services that simply do not meet their needs.
“The Scottish Greens will work with regular commuters and transport groups to build a Scotland where services are run in the public interest, communities get the routes they need and ordinary people are not priced out of getting to work, college, hospital appointments or seeing their family.”
The party has also committed to free bus travel for all, building on the success of free travel for everyone under 22, which was previously secured by the Scottish Greens.
Gillian added:
“It was the Scottish Greens who introduced free bus travel for young people, and we want to build on it by expanding it to everyone. That will put money back in people’s pockets while cutting emissions and making public transport the first and best choice for more people.
“On 7th May, people across Scotland have a clear choice. We can either have more years of a broken and costly postcode lottery of services, or Scottish Green MSPs who will bring services back under public control and build the affordable, reliable, publicly run transport network that Scotland deserves.”
