Scots missing the rural bus
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• The opportunity to increase rural bus services in Scotland is being wasted and many passengers do not know about their local bus services, says the Scottish Consumer Council in its second hard hitting report on the deregulation of the Scottish bus industry.
The organisation slams the low take-up of Rural Transport Innovation grants. Nine grants have been given from October 1986 to April 1988 and only 23% of the Scottish Office's 2170,000 grant budget has been awarded to operators. The report also criticises the Traffic Commissioner and Office of Fair Trading for ineffectiveness and time-wasting.
Figures show that the number of bus services has increased since deregulation. Distances covered have risen from 285 million kilometres (177m miles) to 471 million kilometres (182m miles) with Glasgow route distances rising 25%. The report says, however, that much of this increase is attributable to a duplication of services and, although many peak services have risen, the number of off-peak weekend and evening services have effectively decreased.
The report recommends an extension of the notification period for service changes; an urgent review of the policing system and the Office of Fair Trading; and consideration for making regional and island councils registration bodies, rather than the Traffic Commissioner. A Scottish Office of Fair Trading, a drive for rural grants and better service information is also advised.