Glasgow City Region Bus Partnership

Overview

Glasgow City Region Bus Partnership brings together as a voluntary partnership the eight Glasgow City Region local authorities, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, bus operators (through their new alliance, GlasGo) and bus passenger representative groups to address current challenges to bus travel and to improve the passenger experience for communities across the Region.

The vision of the Glasgow City Region Bus Partnership is of a Region where bus services form part of a network of connectivity, enhancing the opportunities and wellbeing of those who live or visit here - providing safe, affordable, enjoyable connections and reducing road congestion, noise and air pollution.

Aims of the Glasgow City Region Bus Partnership include:

Improving bus priority mechanisms and reducing congestion to improve bus journey times and reliability
Ensuring buses are given higher priority in any future city planning
Improving the accuracy of real time passenger information and exploring options to introduce an integrated ticketing system

The Glasgow City Region Bus Partnership also supports the delivery of Glasgow's Low Emission Zone and brings together key partners to develop bus priority funding bids to Transport Scotland's Bus Partnership Fund.

The work of the Glasgow City Region Bus Partnership seeks to positively impact upon the affordability and accessibility of the bus network and assist with creating the conditions that will increase bus patronage. A faster, cheaper, and better-connected bus network will benefit all bus passengers across the City Region as well as the environment.

Chair - Joan Aitken OBE

Joan Aitken OBE was Traffic Commissioner for Scotland from 2003-2019. In that role she was responsible for licensing and regulating the bus and road haulage industries in Scotland as well as the conduct of professional bus, coach and HGV drivers. That included setting maintenance standards for vehicles, punctuality standards for local bus services and ensuring road and passenger safety. As Traffic Commissioner, Joan made the first Traffic Regulation Condition implementing the first phase of a Low Emission Zone in Glasgow. This measure which initially affects buses only, brings together operators and the city council to improve air quality and protect public health. Joan is a bus user and knows the difference a good bus journey can make, and so she took on the role of Independent Chair determined to put bus passengers high on the agenda of those shaping the city. Bus operators know of Joan's passion for bus travel and that she wants to get the best out of their industry. Joan is also a keen cyclist.

Bus Partnership Fund

As part of its response to the climate emergency, the Scottish Government is committed to providing a long-term investment of £500m to deliver targeted bus priority measures on local and trunk roads. This is intended to reduce the negative impacts of congestion on bus services and address the decline in bus patronage. The investment takes the form of the Bus Partnership Fund, together with the roll-out of infrastructure for the trunk road network.

The Bus Partnership Fund will complement the powers in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, enabling local authorities to work in partnership with bus operators, to develop and deliver ambitious schemes that incorporate bus priority measures. The Fund will focus on the evidence of how bus services will be improved by addressing congestion, however, the partnership approach is also expected to leverage other bus service improvements to help tackle the climate emergency, reduce private car use and increase bus patronage.

Glasgow City Council will submit any bid(s) to the Bus Partnership Fund on behalf of the Glasgow City Region Bus Partnership.

Details of first round funding awards was announced by Transport Scotland on 22 June 2021.

Bus Corridor Works

Glasgow City Council (GCC) as lead authority of the Glasgow City Region Bus Partnership (GBP) appointed external consultants who are currently developing business cases for five strategic bus corridors allocated funding through the Bus Partnership Fund (BPF). The five strategic bus corridors are as follows:

Dumbarton Road
Great Western Road
Maryhill Road
Paisley Road West
Pollokshaws Road

A Strategic Business Case (SBC) report has been developed to present and appraise potential options to implement bus priority measures along each strategic bus corridor. The SBC was submitted to Transport Scotland for a Gateway Review in November 2022 following the Case for Change stage and was successfully approved on the 24 February 2023. Details of the Case for Change report that was produced for the SBC can be found pdf icon here [24Mb] and a summary of the SBC can be found here [165kb].

The Outline Business Case (OBC) covering the strategic, economic, management, financial and commercial case for progressing the proposals, for each of the five strategic bus corridors was submitted to Transport Scotland in June for Paisley Road West and the other 4 corridors in July 2023 for review and approval. The outcome of these is expected in the Autumn.

Subject to OBC approval, the GBP will receive funding from Transport Scotland to progress each strategic bus corridor to Final Business Case including detailed design development. Extensive public consultation would take place on bus priority infrastructure schemes for each of the strategic bus corridors allocated BPF funding. Community and stakeholder engagement will inform the development and appraisal of options, as a key component of the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance process.

A further update will be provided following the OBC gateway review in the near future.