(Image: Herald and Times Group)
Bus campaigners have branded Scotland’s bus system a “failed experiment” and called on the First Minister to provide proper public ownership as council spending on buses and tendered services rose by £9.5million since before the pandemic.
The increase of 17.1% since 2019/20 comes amid rising operator costs, with industry figures showing Scottish bus operating costs up 3.2% and claims and insurance costs up 25.5% over the year to February 2025.
Friends of the Earth Scotland claims private bus companies are cherry-picking routes, leaving communities stranded and forcing local authorities to step in to keep services running.
And they warn John Swinney's pledge to bring the bus network under public control by 2031 through franchising will mean a continuation of buses provided by private companies.
There is evidence of councils increasingly taking bus services in-house in response to commercial withdrawals, failed contract renewals and unaffordable tender prices.
Transport Scotland officials have highlighted the expansion of council-run operations in Dumfries and Galloway, the Scottish Borders and Highland, while Stirling Council has also been developing its own rural bus network.
The campaign group says the trend exposes the weaknesses of a system in which private operators decide which services are commercially viable, while councils are left trying to maintain vital transport links.
Emily Donnelly, of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “These figures illustrate how private bus companies are cherry picking routes leaving communities stranded and forcing councils to pick up the bill. This is a huge waste of public money that would be better spent delivering the same service in house. Buses are a vital public service that should be under public ownership.”
"Franchising might set better routes, but the taxpayer will still be footing the very large bill. We cannot allow private companies to hold public services to ransom."
The Scottish Government's Transport Scotland agency said councils already have powers to run their own bus services and urged local authorities to consider the full range of options available to them, as the Scottish Government prepares to review whether Scotland’s franchising model remains the best way to improve services.
Franchising would allow councils to plan local bus networks and put services out to tender, with operators paid to run routes specified by the local authority.
Official local finance analysis show Scottish councils spent £55.95m on buses and tendered mileage in 2019/20, rising to £60.15m in 2024/25.
The latest provisional data put the total at £65.5m for 2025/26 — an increase of £5.35m, or almost nine per cent, in a single year.
The figures come as the cost of running buses continues to put pressure on operators and public authorities.
A cost monitor of the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) recorded a 3.2% rise in Scottish bus operating costs between February 2024 and February 2025. Labour costs increased by 3.8%, while claims and insurance costs rose by 25.5%.
The latest cost monitor found operating costs in Scotland rose by 4.4% in the year to February 2026, including a 7.3% increase in labour costs. These figures also predate a sharp rise in diesel prices in recent months.
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The industry figures are based on a survey of operators and measure changes in operating costs, rather than the prices councils pay for individual contracts. But they provide context for the financial pressures surrounding bus provision.
The clearest evidence of councils taking over services has emerged in Dumfries and Galloway, where Stagecoach West Scotland’s withdrawal from virtually all the routes it operated in the region in August 2025 triggered a major reorganisation of the network.
Bus privatisation branded ‘failed experiment’ as Scots councils bill soars to £65.5m (Image: Colin Mearns)
Dumfries and Galloway Council subsequently began operating nine additional school bus services and 11 local bus services, increasing the number of routes it ran by around 40%, according to Transport Scotland.
The withdrawal created an urgent challenge for the council and the regional transport partnership, SWestrans, which had to arrange replacement operators or take services on directly.
The council said the unexpected Stagecoach withdrawal had created significant difficulties during a region-wide retendering exercise, with many routes having to be urgently reassigned.
The disruption was particularly serious because the subsidised network provides essential connections for communities across a largely rural area.
In January, the issue was raised with MSPs, where concerns were expressed about the near-collapse of bus services following Stagecoach’s withdrawal and the continuing uncertainty over routes in Annandale and Nithsdale.
Some at-risk services, including the morning service between Moffat and Dumfries, were restored with help from Annandale Community Transport Service and SWestrans.
The Scottish Borders provides another example of councils moving services in-house when commercial arrangements fall away.
The council says it has brought six additional local bus services in-house following its 2024 network review. The routes were previously operated by commercial providers, and the authority said the changes reflected operators ceasing to run services or contract prices increasing significantly.
The council has been operating 19 of the region’s 39 dedicated bus services, making it the largest operator in the Borders by route count. Its fleet has grown to 34 vehicles, and it has invested £1.5m in accessible minibuses and coaches.
Transport Scotland reported in November 2025 that six additional Borders routes had been taken on after a commercial operator was unable to extend its contracts.
Supporters say the expansion demonstrates how a council can become responsible for a substantial part of its local bus network when the commercial market or contract arrangements no longer provide the services required.
Highland Council has also expanded its in-house bus operation, increasing its fleet from 10 to 25 vehicles over three years.
The council has taken over D&E Coaches, while its own service has grown to provide more connections for communities in the Highlands.
In one example, Highland Council introduced a replacement service after Stagecoach withdrew its Ness Castle service in Inverness. The authority’s wider in-house operation has also been expanding as it seeks to maintain services in areas where provision has changed.
The council has reported significant savings from running services itself. Previously tendered contracts had a combined annual value of £4.19m, compared with a reported annual running cost of £2.4m for the services now operated in-house — a difference of about £1.8m a year.
Bus privatisation branded ‘failed experiment’ as Scots councils bill soars to £65.5m (Image: Lothian Group)
Those figures are the council’s own comparison of tender prices and current operating costs, rather than an independently audited assessment of savings. But the authority says the in-house service has protected communities while reducing costs.
Stirling Council is another authority developing direct provision. It launched its C60 rural bus pilot between Callander and Killin after difficulties securing an affordable replacement contract. A subsequent decision was made to continue the service, and the council has developed further rural routes through its in-house model.
Two additional services, the C61 and C62, were introduced in March 2026 to improve connections between rural communities in the western part of the council area. They replaced existing demand-responsive transport services, so they are evidence of expanding council provision rather than direct replacements for commercial bus routes.
The examples do not establish that every council is expanding its own fleet, or that every route taken in-house was abandoned by a private operator. Some changes have followed failed contract renewals or tender prices that councils considered unaffordable; others reflect decisions to redesign local networks.
But campaigners say taken together, it shows how councils in several parts of Scotland are increasing their direct role in running bus services as commercial provision changes and the cost of securing routes becomes a problem.
Ms Donnelly said the Highland example showed councils could take ownership of the solution and provide services people needed to get to school, work and other essential commitments.
She added: “The positive story from Highland Council shows that change is possible, that local authorities can take ownership of the solution and provide the bus services people need to get to school, to work and other essential commitments. Councils can pay bus staff a fair wage, spend money locally and deliver wider social benefits than extractive private bus companies.”
Transport Scotland’s wider statistics show the challenges facing the sector. Around 334m passenger journeys were made by bus in Scotland in 2024/25, up two per cent on the previous year but still 31% below the peak recorded in 2007/08. Journeys have fallen by seven per cent over the past five years, while the number of buses in operators’ fleets has declined by 15% since 2019/20.
The figures also show that vehicle mileage increased by five per cent in 2024, compared with a two per cent rise in passenger journeys.
Friends of the Earth Scotland argues that public ownership would allow services to be planned around the needs of communities rather than commercial decisions about profitability.
Ms Donnelly aid: “Thatcher’s bus privatisation is a failed experiment which must be ended. The only winners have been private bus companies whose owners have become billionaires whilst passenger number have fallen and routes have been slashed.”
The campaign group wants councils to make greater use of their powers to run buses directly, arguing that public ownership would allow money to be spent on maintaining routes and improving reliability rather than returning profits to private owners.
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: "The Scottish Government recognises that bus services are vital in not only providing people with access to the services and facilities that they need, but in tackling the climate emergency. Through legislation, we have given local transport authorities powers on partnership working, franchising, and to run their own bus services.
“Our approach enables local transport authorities to determine what is best to address any transport challenges in their local areas. It is for them to determine, what if any, of these powers they want to use.
"We encourage all local transport authorities to consider the full range of tools available to them, to ensure that everyone has accessible public transport regardless of where they are in Scotland.
Bridgeton Bus Garage (Image: Supplied)
“Additionally our Better Buses legislation builds on the powers already available to local transport authorities and aims to support affordable fares, encourage the development of new routes, particularly in rural areas, and improve bus services across Scotland. As part of this work we will also review the existing franchising model in Scotland and consider whether it remains the most appropriate framework for supporting improved local bus services.”
A CPT Scotland spokesman said: "Regardless of the ownership model, the fundamental costs of running services remain the same. Bus operators across Scotland are committed to delivering reliable, affordable services, but the financial pressures facing the industry are significant."