First Bus has announced it is bringing Glasgow’s night service to an end, citing poor passengers numbers.
The bus operator monitored how many people were using the night buses, but found that as few as four people per hour were using the service.
The First Bus Glasgow branch said it ran the service despite facing significant losses.
The closure of the night bus service is to take effect at the end of the month, impacting 11 routes, including Clydebank, Paisley, East Kilbride, Hamilton, Motherwell, Wishaw and Newton Mearns.
Drivers of the night bus service are to keep their jobs, but will be redeployed on daytime buses.
First Bus commercial director Graeme Macfarlan said: “We were delighted to be able to reintroduce our night bus network last June in an attempt to support the city’s night-time economy.
“Despite a wide variety of efforts by First Glasgow and partner organisations to increase the number of people using the night buses, it has not reached the level required to sustain these services beyond July.
“To do so, we would require the number of people using them each weekend to treble overnight, which is not realistic.
“We really wanted to give these services every chance to succeed which is why we have absorbed the operating losses for the last 12 months.
“It has become clear, however, given the change in behaviour and times people are going out in the city at the weekend, there is not enough appetite in Glasgow for night bus services to successfully operate into the early hours.”
Colin Wilkinson, managing director of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, commented: “A city the size of Glasgow should offer a night bus service so that people enjoying an evening out and those working in hospitality can get home safely.
“With the recent introduction of the Low Emission Zone on many vehicles and fewer taxis in the city since the pandemic, some licensed trade businesses are really worried about the impact the removal of night buses will have when they are still trying to claw back business post-pandemic and amid the cost-of-living crisis.
“Our fear is that people will simply not bother travelling into Glasgow city centre if getting home is going to be such a challenge; it’s extremely bad news for the city’s pubs, bars, restaurants and clubs.”
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