Ministerial Foreword

A reliable, affordable and viable bus network is central to Scotland’s transport system and wider society as a whole. The majority of public transport journeys are made by bus, and for some communities, particularly in rural areas, bus is often the only form of public transport. Bus services reach every part of society and are particularly relied upon by disabled people and those on low incomes. In many cases, they play an important role in reducing isolation and increasing social inclusion.

The Scottish Government values the close working relationship with the bus sector that has been built over many years. This partnership was critical in helping keep vital services running during the pandemic to ensure key workers get to their places of work.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Scottish Government provided significant financial support to the bus sector, with over £223 million in assistance provided to bus operators to maintain essential services, offset the impact that reduced demand was having on the viability of local services, and to protect the industry for the future. Throughout 2022-23, the Network Support Grant Plus provided direct subsidy support to bus operators at an enhanced level which gradually tapered off through to the close of the scheme at the end of March 2023, where all subsidy reverted back to the pre-covid levels through the Network Support Grant.  

The Bus Taskforce was convened in October 2022 by the then Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth MSP, as a short-life working group to collaboratively seek to address the immediate challenges facing the bus industry as it recovered from the challenges of Covid-19 and to support the sector to collectively adjust to changing travel patterns brought about by the pandemic. This was a challenging time for the sector, with the impacts of Brexit contributing to staff shortages and rising costs. These impacts were exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis and inflationary pressures.

The priorities of the Bus Taskforce were agreed to coordinate immediate activity to support patronage recovery, to address sector workforce retention and recruitment, and to ensure proactive communication and engagement with bus users as networks adapted post Covid-19. I am proud of the work conducted by the Bus Taskforce in tackling these issues. In particular, the success of the jointly delivered bus marketing campaign in 2023 demonstrates the benefits of collaboration in encouraging passengers to adopt sustainable public transport.

Government and industry share common objectives to grow demand for bus and make it an attractive and viable alternative to private car. We have never needed to work more collectively to help us create the modern sustainable transport network that we all want and deserve, that will be truly effective at tackling the climate emergency while ensuring that nobody is left behind. The work conducted during this taskforce will form the basis of on-going collaborative work with the bus sector to achieve a transport network that works for everyone.

I would like to thank everyone who took part in the Taskforce, and commend them for the collaborative approach taken and continued commitment to work with the Scottish Government for the benefit of passengers.

Jim Fairlie, MSP
Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity