McGill’s Buses says it will investigate the feasibility of running night buses in Glasgow – following the announcement this week that First Glasgow would end such services.
However, the independent operator, which already operates day and evening routes in the city, says it may not be able to replace all of the lost services. It added that the service provision would have to be financially viable.
Ralph Roberts, CEO at McGill’s Group, says: “McGill’s Group is going to examine options for providing a night bus service to Glasgow and see if we can establish a long-term plan that would be viable.
“We are only at an initial stage of looking at what may be achievable. The First Glasgow services that are being terminated are extensive and we cannot say at this stage that a like-for-like replacement will be feasible.
“That said, we know there is a level of demand for night-time bus services and if Glasgow is to thrive as a city, it needs companies such as McGill’s together with city leaders to see what we can achieve.”
The Scottish billionaire brothers who own McGill’s say night services might not only represent a business opportunity but also could be important for its present passenger levels.
Sandy Easdale says: “We have invested in a state-of-the-art fleet for McGill’s Group to serve Glasgow and James and I have also invested personally in the city. We want Glasgow to be successful and it needs to be successful.
“If people stop coming into the city at night to support the entertainment and leisure industry, they might just stop coming during the day as well. That would be a disaster for the local economy.”
James Easdale adds: “Bus provision in Glasgow is operated through a commercial marketplace and when there is movement, such as has happened this week, the opportunity can be attractive to another organisation such as McGill’s Group.
“Trains and subway in Glasgow are both under public control and are simply not serving the needs of the night-time economy either. There is an opportunity for buses to fill that huge gap and that’s why we’re keen to see what is possible.”
First Glasgow announced it would withdraw the night services from 31 July following a 12-month period of patronage analysis which revealed some services were operating with as few as 14 passengers per hour. Currently, it operates 11 routes across the city in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday mornings.
It had reintroduced the routes in June 2022 to boost the night-time economy following the ending of COVID-19 restrictions. However, Graeme Macfarlan, Commercial Director at First Bus Scotland, says: “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.”
The decision was criticised by politicians, including MSP for Glasgow Paul Sweeney and organisations including the Poverty Alliance and Night Time Industries Association Scotland, while the Glasgow Greens group launched a petition to keep the services running.
