Night workers and late night city revellers from Lanarkshire who rely on buses to get home at weekends will have to find an alternative solution from the start of August
First Glasgow has announced the withdrawal of its night bus services which currently cover travel from the city centre across Glasgow and the surrounding areas which includes East Kilbride, Hamilton, Bellshill, Motherwell and Wishaw.
Despite facing significant losses, First Bus has continued to run its night services through the city.
The decision was made following a 12-month period of monitoring passenger numbers, which revealed that services were regularly operating with as few as 14 passengers per hour.
The change will impact 11 routes that operate across the city in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday mornings.
The drivers who work late into the night to deliver these services will be redeployed into the daytime network to further support existing services across the city where passenger recovery is strong and additional capacity is required.
First Glasgow reintroduced its night bus services in June 2022 to help boost the night-time economy in the city as Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.
Despite significant efforts from the bus company to promote the services, including offering free tickets in December last year, passenger numbers remained between 30 per cent and 35 per cent. First Glasgow also highlighted its concerns on night bus service uptake through meetings with stakeholders and partner organisations as an attempt to secure promotional support.
However, the news was met with dismay by Central Scotland MSP Monica Lennon who has urged First Glasgow to reconsider the withdrawal of services.
She said: "First Glasgow's announcement to withdraw its night bus services from July 31 will have concerning impacts on our community. The N240 and N267 night services are crucial for residents who rely on public transport during late weekend hours.
"The withdrawal of these services will drastically limit access to and from Glasgow and negatively impact the night-time economy.
“I am also concerned this decision could place individuals in danger, especially women and workers who may choose to go by foot late at night to avoid a costly taxi.
“I urge First Glasgow to explore alternative solutions to address the challenges faced by the night bus services. They must collaborate with local politicians, community organisations, and stakeholders to find innovative ways to reinstate the withdrawn services.
“I will be monitoring this situation closely and continuing to advocate for the interests of our community.”
Graeme Macfarlan, commercial director at First Bus Scotland, 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.”
Other areas affected by the withdrawal of the services from July 31 include Clydebank, Paisley, and Newton Mearns.
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