NOTEBOOK by BILL HEANEY
The only time I use a bus these days is when I am in Edinburgh visiting family there.
Since I’m a pensioner, it costs me nothing. Old folk like me go free of charge.
But that still does not stop me thinking that buses are too expensive.
Lorna Slater, the Green Party MSP, whose idea that bottles should be returned for money to the shop where they were purchased, didn’t fly, agrees with me — and many others.
She told the Scottish Parliament on Thursday: “Buses in Scotland are too expensive. We see fare hikes every year, with passengers across the country having to fork out even more cash to get on board.
“As part of this year’s budget negotiations, the Scottish Greens have called for a £2 cap on bus fares. For example, folks living in the First Minister’s constituency are paying an extortionate £5.10 to travel from Blairgowrie to Perth.
“A £2 cap on bus fares would save a commuter on that journey £31 a week, or £124 a month. Does the First Minister agree that we should cap fares and make buses in Scotland cheaper?”
I remember when you could buy a penny single (green ticket) on a local bus in Dumbarton and a return (strawberry red ticket) for twopence.
Green Party leader Lorna Slater, First Minister John Swinney and the cost of buses and taxis to go to the shops.
“The aspiration of delivering public transport that is as low cost as possible is an aspiration that the Government shares. I am aware of the proposals that have been advanced by the Scottish Green Party, and I give Lorna Slater an assurance that they will be considered seriously by the Scottish Government.”
But Ms Slater pressed on:”Cheaper bus tickets are the right thing for people and planet. They would help people to save money and to leave their cars at home, and they would open up new opportunities.
“Already, thanks to the introduction of free bus travel for everyone under 22, which was secured by the Scottish Greens, young people across Scotland have made more than 150 million free bus journeys.
“We must go further to deliver a truly affordable, reliable and accessible bus network across Scotland.
“We must reverse the damage of privatisation, protect essential routes and build publicly owned services that deliver for all passengers.
“What more is the Scottish Government doing to cut the cost of buses and to support workers and commuters?”
Whatever is being done, it’s not enough and it won’t happen soon.
The halcyon days of a bus every ten minutes and memories of “use both sides please” and bells to keep the driver informed by the conductress are long gone.
It was one bell to start the journey, two to signal that passengers wanted off at the next stop and three to tell the driver that the bus was full and he needn’t stop until he got a two-bell signal.
The ticket prices were next to nothing and the Central SMT company put on special buses to take people to their places of work at Denny’s shipyard and other busy factory sites.
Housewives with message bags in Brucehill took the ten past nine bus down to the High Street to do their daily shopping – there were no household freezers or fridges then – and that’s where I got a lot of my stories back then.
Overheard they were from the three seater back seat in a double decker from Brucehill to the High Street, which actually had proper shops then.
And the town and district councils which looked after the shop owners by charging reasonable rates for providing public services such as street cleaning.
Recently, I walked from the house to the shops in the St James Retail Park. I got a taxi back home, which cost me £7, which may have included a tip for the driver.
I winced a little though at the thought that Dumbartonians and Vale folk during this Cost of Living crisis might well be paying £14 for the round trip from Brucehill, Bellsmyre or Haldane to their nearest shopping centre to buy the highly inflated price of food to feed their families.
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