Highland Council to get 12 new buses for school transport pilot leading to questions about whether the local authority is taking its first steps towards setting up a bus company
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Highland Council has taken delivery of six brand new Volvo buses worth almost £473,000 on the open market amid speculation it is taking its first steps into public transport.
Mystery surrounded the six Volvo 8900 buses, largely used for “intercity and commuting” needs, which arrived at the council headquarters earlier this week.
Yesterday, the council was unable to say why it had leased the six vehicles despite a visit by Scottish transport secretary Jenny Gilruth.
But today the local authority announced they are for a “pilot project” to expand its in-house school transport provision.
According to the council, a project team reviewed travel options and, after the recent re-tender process for school transport contracts, the decision was taken for the council to trial delivering more routes itself.
Six buses have been delivered with a further six – to be purchased outright – expected to arrive by mid-November.
The pilot to be launched in January will cover routes across rural Inverness, the Black Isle, Loch-Ness-side and Nairn.
The cash-strapped council will pay for lease and purchase of the buses through the school transport budget and a report is expected at the next economy and infrastructure meeting.
Taking the initiative
Committee chairman Ken Gowans, pictured with Ms Gilruth yesterday, said the move was “a huge step forward for us.”
He said: “The Highland Council already delivers in-house school transport so I’m delighted this pilot will be expanding on what we already have in place.
“It is great to see us taking the initiative. It means we can avoid being exposed to excessive costs from the commercial sector and the ultra-low emission engines the buses have will benefit the environment.
“This is a huge step forward for us, ultimately so we can provide cost-effective and reliable transport for our public services as well as school pupils across the Highlands.”
Tools to revitalise bus services
Transport Scotland was able to confirm that the buses are related to £2.9 million investment from the national Bus Partnership Fund.
An online post stated: “She [Jenny Gilruth] was pleased to hear the progress in developing bus priority measures funded by £2.9 million from the Transport Scotland Bus Partnership Fund.”
That comes after the Scottish Government gave local authorities the power to run their own bus services in June instead of just subsiding them to provide public transport.
At the time, Ms Gilruth said: “I recognise that not every local authority will want to run their own bus services – some may opt for a partnership or franchise approach.
“What’s key is that local authorities will soon have greater tools at their disposal to revitalise bus services where required.”
She added: “I would encourage all local transport authorities to consider using this power, and the full range of tools available to them.”
Soured relationship
The development comes amid significant public concern about the reliability of Highland bus services.
The relationship between the council and local bus companies also soured badly in August 2021 when more money was demanded by firms for school runs.
Right before term was to start, two companies threatened to leave pupils high and dry and ditch their contracts if they did not get more money.
The council was particularly frustrated as it continued to pay the contracts even though no children and few passengers were using buses.
Meanwhile the companies themselves were free to furlough staff and seek government support.
