Call to speed up expansion of Highland Council's bus fleet

A Highland councillor is calling for expansion of the local authority's own bus fleet to be accelerated.

A pilot project run by Highland Council to provide in-house bus services was introduced at the start of the year.

In April, the council described it as being a success and said it could be expanded to include more routes.

The council has invested in 12 buses, including six double deckers to deliver passenger and school transport services at a lower cost than commercial contractors.

Now, Green councillor Kate Willis (Fort William and Ardnamurchan) is calling for the council to make further bids for Scottish Government funding so it can speed up expansion.

“I welcome the Scottish Government’s announcement of Phase 2 of the Scot ZEB fund for buying electric buses, and note that the £46 million community bus fund should be opening for bids very soon," she said.

“Stagecoach received a significant grant award from the first stage of the electric bus funding – which is how their new electric fleet in Inverness was funded. It’s now time for the council to apply for funding.

“If we want people to leave their cars at home – and we do – we must ensure that there is a good public transport alternative to make it possible. We need better buses – services which are more regular and more reliable.

“At the council meeting on June 29, I called on the council administration to prepare bids for these Scottish Government bus funds. Buses are a public service, and they should be run for the public good, not the profit of shareholders. The council’s initial small step into running its own publicly-owned services has been hugely successful – now is the time to expand that service.”

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