Dundee council leaders must do more to help struggling bus passengers in the city.
That’s the view of union bosses and councillors in Dundee.
Passengers have faced an unreliable service in recent weeks as Xplore Dundee has been forced to cancel buses.
The company said the issue is down to a national shortage of drivers.
Sources close to Xplore Dundee bus drivers, however, claim recent changes to terms and conditions have driven staff away.
We asked an Xplore Dundee spokeswoman how many services they company has cancelled in the last fortnight. But the spokeswoman would not be drawn on exact numbers.
She said the situation was improving and the company anticipates fewer cancellations in the future.
Why should the council consider public ownership?
The Dundee Trades Union Council (TUC) has written to Dundee City Council (DCC) to ask them to use little-known powers to shore up the struggling service.
Mike Arnott, Dundee TUC secretary, said bus driver terms and conditions across the board have been “slashed” for decades.
He has written to DCC and every councillor in the city urging the local authority to use the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019.
Among other things, the Act gives councils powers to establish a “partnership plan”.
This allows them to step in to ensure service demands are met if deemed needed.
But there has been little sign officials want to engage with the TUC, Mike said.
Buses used to make money for councils… there’s no reason that can’t be the case for DCC.”
Mike Arnott, Dundee TUC secretary
As local authorities already pay thousands in subsidies each year to private companies to continue loss-making routes, Mike feels it’s only right councils use these powers.
He said: “Currently, if services are cut or cancelled by a private company and the council come to them asking for it to be put back on, they say ‘sure, but you’ll pay through the nose for it’.
“Buses used to make money for councils back in the day, and there’s no reason that can’t be the case for DCC.”
What can Dundee City Council do?
Dundee West councillor Fraser Macpherson agrees council officials should explore what can be done with the Transport Act.
He said: “I feel it’s important that council officials work with the private sector to ensure a full network is in place.
“We should be encouraging public transport for the environmental benefits, but it has to be there for people to use.”
What is the council already doing?
Dundee City Council established the Tayside Bus Alliance (TBA) along with nearby councils and organisations in the summer.
The TBA has secured more than £500,000 from the Scottish Government to carry out consultation and scoping exercises to explore where improvements are needed.
The council will not make any changes until second half of 2022 at the earliest.
The TBA will “look at options for bus priority measures across the city”, a DCC spokesman said.
He added local authority officials have a “positive working relationship” with “partners in the bus industry” such as Xplore.
“We will continue to work with them as we collectively move on from the pandemic,” he said.
What has been happening at Xplore Dundee?
Our sources claim at least 50 drivers have left Xplore Dundee since Greenock-based firm McGill’s bought the company in late 2019.
At the heart of the issue is a change to terms and conditions which saw an increase in split shift patterns and fewer days off, sources claim.
McGill’s CEO Ralph Roberts previously said staff now have a better work/life balance. He also said the bus driver shortage is entirely down what is happening across the country.
