By Bill Heaney
Scottish Labour has accused the SNP of failing to support public transport, as bus, rail and ferry usage continue to lag well behind pre-pandemic levels.
The new Scottish Transport Statistics show that in 2023/24 bus journeys in Scotland were seven per cent lower than they were in 2019-20, while ScotRail journeys were 16 per cent lower. In 2023, ferry journeys were seven per cent lower than in 2019.
In 2023, the number of motor vehicles registered in Scotland hit an all-time high and the number of vehicle kilometres driven rose, despite the SNP’s pledge to cut vehicle kilometres by 20 per cent by 2030.
Audit Scotland recently warned that the Scottish Government was “unlikely” to meet this target.
Scottish Labour has warned that “SNP incompetence is making public transport unusable”, pointing to ferry chaos, cuts to bus services and hikes to rail fares.
“From inflicting ferry chaos on islanders to hiking rail passengers’ fares to presiding over brutal cuts to bus routes, the SNP’s incompetence is making public transport unusable for too many Scots.
“With car use rising, it’s clear the SNP is nowhere near on track to meet its own targets as its failures to often leave Scots with little choice but to drive.
“A Scottish Labour government will connect communities and drive down emissions by building a reliable, affordable public transport network across Scotland.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Daniel O’Malley has today said that the SNP Government have used the pandemic to permanently downgrade public transport as new figures showed that public transport usage is still well down on pre-pandemic levels.
Scottish Transport Statistics published today show that in 2023-24, the number of bus journeys was still 7% lower than pre-pandemic, while the number of rail journeys was 16% lower than in 2019-20 and the number of ferry journeys was down 7% compared to 2019.
Mr O’Malley said: “Road traffic has returned to 99% of pre-pandemic levels. While road traffic has bounced back from the pandemic, it seems like public transport has been given a permanent downgrade.
“If services aren’t affordable and convenient people simply won’t use them. Instead they will rely on more polluting alternatives like driving and flying.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats have set out extensive plans to make our public transport more affordable and more accessible. We want to see new two/ three day a week season tickets on trains, reliable ferries and communities put in charge of where and when buses go.”