Proposed Bus Regulation (Scotland) Bill Response from Jayne Baxter MSP

I welcome the opportunity to respond to the consultation document on the proposed Bus
(regulation) Scotland Bill.
Concerns about the capacity of the existing system of public transport to meet the need for
travel are consistently raised with me by constituents across the parliamentary region of
Mid Scotland and Fife. Much of my response below is based on this evidence from my
constituents.
The region is extremely diverse and while it contains pockets of urban areas which have
access to regular and frequent bus services, it also has a high percentage of rural areas and a
number of communities with incidences of multiple deprivation.
As an appendix to my response, I enclose some of the concerns I have received from
constituents who took the time to come along to an extremely well attended public
meeting and complete a survey of their views of bus services.
1. Do you support the general aim of the proposed Bill? Please indicate yes/no/undecided and
explain the reasons for your response.

Yes, I support the general aim of the proposed Bus Regulation (Scotland) Bill and welcome the intent
behind it. The wording of the draft proposal picks out what I believe is the key issue with current
bus services: namely the need for greater powers for transport authorities to enable them to take
action, not only when putting services out to tender but to take action when service providers fall
short of what is required or walk away from a contract.
2. What would be the main practical advantages of the legislation proposed? What would be
the disadvantages?

There may be some additional work to ensure the successful implementation of the new powers but
I am not inclined to believe that this would be any more onerous than any other new powers being
introduced or changes to legislation. The current provisions under existing legislation for statutory
Quality Partnership agreements and Quality Contracts require fairly lengthy processes for these to
be established. The numbers of these agreements currently in place in Scotland suggest to me that
this is a fairly complex task so I would welcome any legislation, such as the proposed Bill, which
would make it easier for transport authorities to put in place measures to improve services and meet
communities needs.
3. In what ways do you envisage reregulation being used to improve bus services?
One of the stated aims of the proposed bill is to enable local authorities to provide socially useful
service where there are gaps in provision. I am aware of complaints from constituents of services
being reduced in the evenings and at weekends this has had a detrimental impact on the ability of
many of my constituents to travel at these times. In the west Fife villages, for some services, you
need to travel in to Dunfermline and back out again, just to get to a neighbouring village by bus.
A common complaint has been the lack of routes which directly serve a local hospital or services to
and from the hospital either not matching with visiting hours or finishing too early in the evening.
Re regulation would enable transport authorities to identify such essential services and meet any
gaps in provision.
4. How can community transport be better utilised to serve local communities and particularly low
passenger volume routes?
The Scottish Parliaments ICT Committee has recently conducted an inquiry into Community
Transport and has produced a report which outlines the evidence received and the issues raised
along with some options for supporting the sector.

The benefit of community owned and operated transport services is that they can respond to local
needs which usually involves low volume routes at times out-with the normal bus operating times.
These services can provide access to health, education, employment, social visiting or sport and
leisure opportunities and as such play a vital role in supporting health and well-being for residents
and sustainable communities.

Opportunities may also be available within community transport for volunteers to gain skills
confidence, and experience which may help them to become better able to get employment.

There is increasing recognition that co-ordination of expensive resources such vehicles and drivers is
a key feature which must be improved if we are to make the most of transport resources.
Community Planning Partnerships are one way in which co-ordination could be achieved.

5. Do you agree that the Traffic Commissioner should be able to impose greater financial penalties
on operators who a) fail to meet the terms of the franchise or b) walk away from the franchise
altogether?
Yes. I believe recent examples of cuts to bus services by operators with little or no notice
demonstrate the need for the imposition of greater penalties on operators who do not meet the
terms of a franchise.
6. What is your assessment of the likely financial implications of the proposed Bill to you or your
organisation? What other significant financial implications are likely to arise?
N/A.
7. Is the proposed Bill likely to have any substantial positive or negative implications for equality?
If it is likely to have a substantial negative implication, how might this be minimised or avoided?
It is my view that the proposed Bill will have substantially positive implications for equality both
directly and indirectly. The consultation document picks up on the WRVS report and rightly
highlights that concessionary travel schemes are only worthwhile if there are services which
passengers can access. I would fully support this point and the potential of the proposed Bill to
increase the accessibility of bus travel in Scotland.
Another excellent report which may be of use when developing the bill is the report published by
the Poverty Alliance and carried out by Fife Gingerbread summarises the transport challenges facing
single parents, often low-paid women, in rural areas:
Transport costs provided another key challenge. This is an issue particularly for people in rural
areas. Transport serves as an enabler for people living on low incomes to access for example
employment, shops and services. As such the impact of transport costs within household budgets
will be critical for lone parent families in rural areas. extra curricular activities frequently cannot be
pursued due to additional transport costs and availability of public transport ( survey respondent)
This is again supported by wider evidence. The Office of Fair Trading (2010), argued that without
access to adequate means of transportation, the poor are at risk of facing social exclusion, as they
are unable to access food shopping, financial, leisure, health and education facilities that are not
within walking distance. In addition evidence shows that specific groups such as lone parents are
less likely to own a car, further increasing the pressures on them. (page 30).
http://povertyalliance.org/news_pubs/reports/surviving_poverty
I believe reregulated bus services could be extremely helpful in addressing some of the access issues
as outlined in the previous example.
As part of my wider consultation with constituents on transport issues, I met with a small group of
Fife-based deaf bus users who are dependent on using local bus services. One example of the
importance of public transport to enable all people to reach their potential and have fulfilling lives
was a constituent who has use four different buses by travelling from Fife to the Deaf Social Club in
Falkirk.
8. Do you have any other comment or suggestion that is relevant to the need for or detail of this
Bill?
I enclose a summary of the comments I have gathered from constituents from a variety of
consultations, surveys and newsletters I have carried out over the past year.
I feel these effectively highlight the concerns felt by bus users about how the services available to
them could be improved. Some are very specific local issues which I am pursuing in my capacity as
an MSP which I have not included in this evidence.

Bus Survey Responses (August September 2013)
Where do you travel to?
Of those surveyed, 30 % said they used buses for all the range of distances asked about: local; other
towns in Fife; and further afield e. g Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Local journeys (e.g. in and around Kelty) 59 %
Other towns in Fife (e.g Dunfermline or Kirkcaldy) 50 %
Further afield (e.g Edinburgh or Glasgow) 79%.
Frequency of bus trips?
Daily: 36.5%; Weekly 25%; Monthly 12%; Other 23%
How do you rate your bus service?
Very Poor 17%; Fairly Poor 8%; Average 46%; Good 21%; Very good 2%
Do you use a bus pass? Yes 65%. No 30%
Comments: I have included some of the more general comments I have received from constituents
in Kelty to provide a snapshot of the concerns which have been raised with me regarding bus
services in Fife.
The coaches are not suitable for different sizes of wheelchairs and they don't have
extended safety belts (Fife Scottish). City Link have extended belts. The ramps have
to be checked as sometimes they stick.
Need for 2 buses to Kirkcaldy instead of one. Also Sunday for Queen Victoria for
visiting and A&E. There is a 2 hour gap - 6.05pm and 8pm.
Bus links to towns other than dunfermline are poor. the time implications adding
journey times to a whole working day.
As far as we were told the 33 bus from kirkcaldy to cowdenbeath was not going to
change but it has. The last bus is 8.05 from the bus station when it used to be 9.05pm
A few buses are very noisy and very warm during the hot wealther and dirty outside.
Buses are rarely on time which means you can miss buses going out-with Fife. Bus
passes are a great idea but I think when travelling out-with Fife a small amount should
be paid. There is no direct bus to Kirkcaldy hospital.
Citylink bus, Edinburgh to Dundee/Perth is a missed opportunity for the residents i.e. it
passes Kelty completely yet on M90 the bus stops at the small town of Milnathort with
c2000 residents. Kelty has 6000
I think the quality of our buses could be better. Some of the old ones are very noisy
and break down frequently. The newer ones are not much better.
There is no service from or to Kinross and Perth for at least two hours in the afternoon
Visiting Kirkcaldy hospital, especially at night - Sometimes have to get 3 different
buses. Would like Kelty Kirkcaldy service to go via the hospital.
I just feel we have a poor bus service, compared to other places. Quite often the
buses don't turn up at all.
User panel members are worried they will lose their bus passes due to incorrect fare
stages, origin/destination.
Buses should be able to go to Victoria hospital from Kelty. A real requirement
particularly for elderly and infirm people. Also late buses needed to suit evening
visiting as people need to leave earlier otherwise. Sunday bus services to Kirkcaldy
needed. Could small buses not help on local runs in all areas for local shopping.
would this not help in financial terms? I don't think it is bad for Edinburgh buses- a
good service from Dunfermline.
School children leave the bus in an unnecessary mess for other passengers to sit in. it
is not good enough this is being allowed to happen. Some buses are now past their
best for public use.
Due to poor availability of car parking space at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy a frequent
and fast bus service is essential. The service to Queen Margaret hospital in
Dunfermline is adequate and it passes by the hospital's main entrance. The service to
Kirkcaldy does not.
Buses for Kelty routes seem to be the oldest on the bus fleet. Not always on time only
some buses have wheel chair accommodation. Sometimes buses do not arrive at all.
No direct buses to Edinburgh. Buses cut off in the evening.
I would be happy to pay 50p or 1 a journey if it got us a bus service from Kelty to
Park & Ride for link to other places.
I don't think we can afford free bus service. There should be nominal charge (say 50p)
for all senior citizen bus journeys and again charge should be made for holiday
parking at park & ride facilities.
Buses are regularly late without any explanation offered. The buses available meet my
needs but only in as much I know the timings and therefore make the effort to catch
the appropriate bus.
On numerous occasions, Kelty bus takes off at Kelty and put back to Dunfermline- not
in service and told to wait for next bus (they are only one per hour). On a Sunday,
people still start work at 7am depending on profession, yet cannot get to work. The
last bus is 10.40pm from Dunfermline - what about people who work until 11pm? I
cant do shifts in Rosyth as cannot get up to Dunfermline for 10.40pm. Old buses on
Kelty routes a disgrace - very unsatisfied.
When you want a night out in Dunfermline you cannot rely on buses to get you home
as there are only services to 10pm with nothing after that. Taxis are very expensive.
Need more buses after 7pm and at weekends.
I am not really well enough to walk even short distances or to stand at bus stops due
to my disabilities. The buses used to come along my street but that was stopped for a
while back so now it is more difficult for me to use bus services. The big buses always
seem to be empty so why can't buses be much smaller in rural areas?
A shuttle bus from Kelty to Halbeath Park and Ride would improve links to other
destinations.