(Image: Newsquest)
John Swinney has promised to bring Scotland's bus network back into public control by the end of this parliament.
The vow was among a number of announcements made during his speech to the SNP conference in Aberdeen.
The First Minister also pledged to make misogyny-based harassment and abuse a specific criminal offence before next summer.
Read more
- Civil servants demand to work from home - is it April 1?
- Burnham offers Swinney consensus – but this could be a power struggle
- NHS staff anger over bombshell plan to reshape orthopaedic surgery across Scotland
On buses, he announced that bus fares in Aberdeen and the North East will be capped at £2 from April, extending the scheme already running in the Highlands and Islands and the West of Scotland.
The Scottish Government says it remains committed to a nationwide cap during this parliament.
"But friends, cheaper bus travel is only one part of the story," Mr Swinney said. "We need more buses and we need more frequent buses.
"It's good for commuters and it's good for the climate.
"I can therefore announce today that by the end of this parliament, through franchising and regulation, the SNP will bring the bus network back into public control."
Bus franchising lets a local transport authority decide which services run, set standards and award exclusive rights to operators to run them, suspending the deregulated market that has been in place since the 1980s.
The powers were set out in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019,
So far only Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) has begun the process. It estimated in 2024 that it would cost up to £15 million and take five to seven years, and campaigners have warned that no franchised service may run anywhere in Scotland before 2031, the year this parliament ends.
Bus operators including McGill's have opposed the plans.
Reclaim the Night protest in Glasgow City Centre on Monday October 12 (Image: Glasgow Times)
On misogyny, the First Minister said the Scottish Government would bring forward new legislation to "make harassment and abuse based on misogyny a specific criminal offence" before next year's summer recess.
He said the legislation "will recognise misogyny as a distinct form of prejudice and abuse".
Mr Swinney said: "I have been appalled at the creeping normalisation of misogynistic behaviour in our society. I know that women are angry. They are right to be angry. And I know I must show personal leadership."
He pointed to the Reclaim the Night march in Glasgow this week, which he said was "a visible reminder" of the problem.
The Scottish Government has promised a misogyny law before.
The 2021 Hate Crime Act did not cover sex, despite a review by Lord Bracadale recommending that it should.
Ministers instead asked Baroness Helena Kennedy to examine whether Scotland needed a standalone law.
Her 2022 report recommended a Misogyny and Criminal Justice Act, with new offences including public sexual harassment of women, stirring up hatred against women and girls, and threatening or invoking rape or sexual assault, as well as a statutory aggravation of misogyny.
The Government accepted the recommendations and consulted on five new offences in 2023, but in May 2025 it dropped the Bill, saying there was not enough parliamentary time given the legal complexity.
First Minister and party leader John Swinney during the final day of the Scottish National Party (SNP) annual conference (Image: PA Wire)
The SNP's 2026 manifesto put the Bill back on the table, and the Programme for Government in September said the Government would seek to make progress on it.
Mr Swinney also announced a Respect Fund, to launch before the end of the school year, with up to an additional £1 million invested from 2027/28.
High school pupils will be able to access third sector programmes on rejecting misogyny, while primary pupils will receive age-appropriate learning on respect.
The “Don’t Be That Guy” campaign, first run by Police Scotland in 2021, will be expanded with backing from Scottish Rugby, the Scottish Football Association and Tennis Scotland.
Scotland rugby players Jamie Dobie and Grant Gilchrist and tennis player Connor Thomson are among those involved, and the campaign will bring together sportsmen from football, rugby, cycling, swimming, athletics, golf and tennis.
There was also a Scotland Together Fund of more than £30 million over three years, from 2027/28, for grassroots groups tackling poverty, disadvantage and racism.
The First Minister told delegates it would "give them the tools they need to push back the tide of racism in Scotland".
Scottish Labour's deputy leader, Dame Jackie Baillie welcomed the First Minister's pledge to further extend the £2 bus fares cap, and to bring the bus network into public control.
"We will work with the Scottish Government on this to ensure it is delivered in the interest of the people of Scotland," she said.
STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer welcomed the pledges made by the First Minister.
“Bringing buses back into public ownership is a vitally important step and one which will find praise from across our movement. This must act as the next stop in the journey, not the terminus, of our transport ambitions and we will continue the campaign for the full municipalisation of the bus network.
“The First Minister deserves further credit for tackling the rancid far-right head on and the £30 million of funding for groups at the forefront of this fight deserves recognition.
"Whilst the devil will be in the detail, we welcome this decisive action and can work with the government to ensure communities see the benefit of unity rather than disharmony.
"We also welcome the First Minister’s recommitment to tackling violence against women and girls and await the urgent rollout of both the long-awaited misogyny bill and the Respect Fund for educators."
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay welcomed the franchising pledge but said the fares cap was not being rolled out fast enough.
She said: “I'm delighted that the First Minister has finally listened to Green calls for our bus network to come back into public hands, and franchising is an important step on that journey.
“Bus privatisation has failed. We will work constructively to turn his pledge into a reality and build a public transport system that is affordable, accessible and available to everyone."
On the cap, she said: "“This is a welcome step, but rolling out the cap on bus fares one region at a time isn't good enough for the families and workers who are being punished by the cost of living crisis and extortionate bus fares."