Transport bosses have approved plans to press on with bus franchising across the greater Glasgow regional area.
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport approved its Regional Bus Strategy, which includes franchising.
SPT said a consultation found 83% support for franchising, though the plan has been criticised by a leading bus firm as “utter insanity”.
Franchising means SPT would set routes and frequency of services, determine fares and then invite firms to tender to operate the franchise
The organisation and supporters of such a scheme have said it will improve reliability of bus services and also provide better value for money for passengers.
Opponents, however, say it is costly to the public purse through subsidy and penalises existing operators who have invested millions of pounds in buses.
Stephen Dornan, SPT chair, said: “The public consultation clearly demonstrates that the majority of those who responded are not satisfied with the current bus network and most organisations which responded do not believe the current bus network meets the needs of the general public.
“SPT will now take forward plans for the development of bus franchising.”
One of the biggest opponents of franchising has been McGill’s Bus Group, which operated services in Glasgow and the west of Scotland.
Sandy Easdale, who owns McGill’s with his brother James, criticised the decision.
He said: “The Scottish public will be delighted to hear that yet another quango will be created to run the buses and with a horrendous budget of £400m a year.
“This is utter insanity.”
Ralph Roberts, chairman of McGill’s Bus Group, said: “This decision was taken some time ago so this latest outcome is no surprise.
“It is good that SPT has eventually realised how important bus users are after decades of pandering to well-heeled car users.
“The sample size is exceptionally small and the consultation questions were leading, so it is unsurprising that the result was the complete opposite from the Government’s own survey by Transport Focus whose results reported the buses in Strathclyde as the best in Scotland.
“The sample size of 5000 is less than 1% of physical people using buses daily in Strathclyde. We cannot base policy on the exception rather than the rule.”
The consultation survey also asked questions on topics including reliability and fares.
It found 97% of respondents rated “Buses where they are needed, when they are needed” as very important (80%) or important (17%).
The same total also said “reliable and quicker bus journeys” were very important or important.
And 94% rated “affordable and attractive fares and ticketing” as very important or important.
Alan Moir, SPT vice chair, added: “Bus plays a huge role in our society, serving many poorly connected and disadvantaged communities.
"We need an improved bus network to unlock the economic potential of our region and to address the climate emergency. Moving forward with plans for bus franchising we hope will ensure better sustainable access for those communities, opening up new opportunities in education, employment and training in the future.”
McGill’s bosses said that franchising needs additional funding from the Government.
“McGill’s await the details behind this decision, which will reveal the exact shape of bus reform that SPT has in mind. McGill’s main concern is that the bus users of Strathclyde should be the central focus of any reform. None of this will happen without significant funding.
“SPT’s local authorities have fully consumed budgets, so will rely on the Scottish Government to fund their £400m per annum wish list.
"This is, as yet, unagreed so this decision today is rather pointless unless funding is made available.”
