(Image: Jane Barlow)
John Swinney has been compared to a dictator as Scotland’s largest independent bus operator accused him of “business confiscation” over plans to take services under public control.
McGill’s Group has vowed to pursue “every available legal avenue” to protect its business, warning that any attempt to strip away the network it has built would be “vigorously resisted”.
Mr Swinney used his SNP conference speech to announce Scotland’s bus network would be brought under public control by 2031.
It is understood that will allow regional transport partnerships to have more control over routes and fares on the bus network, without the Scottish Government having to actively own it.
Sandy Easdale, the co-owner of McGill’s Group alongside his brother James, likened Mr Swinney to Idi Amin and Robert Mugabe, former dictators in Uganda and Zimbabwe, with the bus tycoon stating both me “bankrupted their countries through catastrophic financial policies”.
The First Minister told SNP conference the process towards public control will begin next year with changes to franchising and regulation through a Bill in Holyrood.
Under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, bus franchising lets local authorities decide which services run and award exclusive rights to operators to run them, suspending the deregulated market that has been in place since the 1980s.
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) has already begun the process, estimating in 2024 that it could take up to seven years and cost £15 million.
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But Ralph Roberts, chairman of the McGill’s Group, threatened legal action if Mr Swinney’s plans are pursued.
He said McGill’s had assessed the plans for a franchised network in Strathclyde as costing an additional £400 million each year.
He said: “The First Minister’s announcement threatens businesses built through years of private investment, hard work and commercial risk. McGill’s has never been publicly owned. There is nothing to ‘bring back’ into public control in our case.
“Removing a company’s ability to operate the network it has built and putting those services out to competitive tender amounts to business confiscation.”
Mr Roberts added: “There are also serious questions about the cost to taxpayers. Our assessment, carried out by independent economists, is that a franchised network in Strathclyde could require an additional £400 million each year. Ministers must explain how such a commitment would be funded and what passengers would receive in return.
McGill's is Scotland's largest independent bus operator (Image: Archives)
“Greater Manchester’s projected net cost of around £226 million for its franchised bus network in 2025/26 should prompt serious scrutiny before Scotland commits to a similar approach. Changing who controls routes and fares does not remove the cost of running buses.”
He said the Scottish Government should be working with bus operators to build on commercial strength and tackle the congestion that makes services slower and more expensive to operate.
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“Our owners have invested substantially in growing this business and improving services. They have the resources and determination to defend what they have built and are prepared to pursue every available legal avenue to protect it,” he added.
“Ministers should be in no doubt that any attempt to strip away that business will be vigorously resisted.”
Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth, who is also the Scottish Government’s Finance Secretary, said she will work with bus companies who have concerns.
She said the Scottish Government’s plans were about “protecting” Scots who have faced a series of route closures in recent years.
Asked about the comments from McGills, Ms Gilruth said: “Well, of course, the Easdale brothers I think are significant donors to the Labour Party. It’d be remiss of me not to mention that point.
“Fundamentally, we’re trying to protect our people, and across the country just now we see a number of routes having been removed.”
She added: “Of course we work with bus operators like McGill’s and others to hear their views. We’ve always done that in terms of how we’ve rolled out our approach to the under 22s, and of course to the £2 bus cap.”
At the SNP conference on Saturday, Mr Swinney also announced the extension of the £2 bus fare cap, with Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to be covered from April.
The current cap covers the greater Glasgow area and the Highlands and Islands, with the Government planning to expand it to the whole country by the end of the parliamentary term in 2031.
She said the current private bus model was “a legacy of Thatcher’s time when she took away that opportunity for there to be direct intervention from the state around about a number of bus routes”.
She added: “So we’re going back to an approach that better protects people.”