Seven services are to be withdrawn and more than a dozen reduced as McGill’s Buses slashes its routes across Renfrewshire.
The private bus company revealed the cuts to services as part of its revised timetable to come into effect from Monday, May 1.
The changes come as a Scottish Government subsidy to support public transport following the pandemic draws to a close on March 31.
A particular blow for McGill’s, the company says its operating costs have soared by 25 per cent since before the pandemic, making some provision simply unaffordable.
But Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, described the move as “very concerning”.
All parts of the local authority area are affected by the proposals, as is neighbouring Barrhead and Inverclyde.
Circular routes serving town centres and local residential areas have been particularly hit, with the number 31 Cochrane Castle to Houston Square being withdrawn alongside the Barrhead circular bus, number 52, and Neilston Circular, number 54.
But McGill’s say these areas will still have bus cover with the variation of other bus routes, including the number 20 in Johnstone and 66 in Neilston.
The 64 Linwood to Gallowhill service is being axed and a new 7A service introduced and an extension to the 61 bus route.
In Paisley, the number 17 bus will no longer operate on Sundays and will have a reduced timetable Monday to Saturday.
The bus, which runs from Foxbar past the Royal Alexandra Hospital, through Paisley town centre to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, will specifically see cuts before 8am and after 5pm on weekdays.
The number 38 will also cease journeys between Johnstone and Kilbarchan and Spateston.
A host of other bus routes will see the frequency of buses reduced alongside the hours of operation.
This includes bus numbers 6, 7, 10, 17, 20, 21, 30, 32, 38, 51.
Ralph Roberts, CEO of McGill’s Group, said the Scottish Government’s covid recovery cash for public transport has “allowed more bus services to run than would otherwise be affordable” in past two years.
“The pandemic has resulted in changes to how, when and why people travel,” he said.
“More recently, the industry, like wider economy and the population at-large, has been hit by inflationary pressures – such as fuel, energy, materials and wage costs.
“It now costs us approximately 25 per cent more to keep buses on the road than it did before covid.”
The number of journeys being made is between 80 and 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels but the massive increase in costs means the bus timetable and services has had to be reworked.
Mr Roberts added: “Whilst we fully recognise the extent of service changes, we have worked hard to try and adjust other McGill’s services to cover some or all of the cancelled service routes.”
The revised timetable has been sent to Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) which has the power to step in with financial support where journeys or services are considered to be socially necessary.
But Paisley-based Mr Bibby said Holyrood can’t simply write a blank cheque – and urged the Scottish Government to look at the examples in Leeds and Manchester where bus services have been taken back under public control.
“It is very concerning that bus companies are considering yet more drastic cuts,” he said.
“I know people in our community are getting extremely frustrated with the reduction in services.
“To avoid these cuts, the Scottish Government should provide more support for bus operators but there should be no more blank cheques for these private companies.
“Any further support should have strict conditions attached to maintain services, cap fares and to help bring buses back under public control.”
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