Fife bus service concerns raised with Minister as passengers 'wait for hours'

Mark Ruskell, Green MSP, said people in the Kingdom were still suffering from poor service - despite major investment from the Scottish Government.

He asked Jenny Gilruth, Transport Minister and fellow Fife MSP, whether any private bus operator in receipt of the recently extended Network Support Grant Plus from the Scottish Government had been penalised for not meeting the funds conditions on service provision and fares.

While she was unable to specify whether this has been the case, however reiterated that the NSG+ fund’s terms and conditions prevented all recipients from increasing bus fares.

Mr Ruskell’s question came in net zero, energy and transport portfolio questions today at Holyrood.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Ruskell said: “Over the past year, we’ve seen record investment in bus from the Scottish Government.

“The extension of concessionary travel has encouraged young folks to get back on board, with 47,505 U22s in Fife now in receipt of their free bus pass, and additional funding has kept services operational during the darkest days of Covid.”He continued: “Yet, I’m still hearing stories from my constituents about folks waiting at bus stops for hours for services that never arrive, and complete route withdrawals leaving communities isolated.”

“There has to be more accountability from private bus operators who are in receipt of significant public funds from the Scottish Government. “And Mr Ruskell added: I’ll be pursuing this directly with the Transport Minister over the coming months.”