A Lanarkshire council ought to look to take management of the area's bus providers, an MSP has claimed.
Clare Haughey, who represents Rutherglen, has known as for South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) to reap the benefits of latest adjustments to the Transport (Scotland) Act, which can allow native authorities to additional energy to run bus providers as they see match.
Ms Haughey has now written to SLC chief Joe Fagan to ask what the regional physique intend to do, whereas the topic was additionally mentioned on the council's govt assembly this week.
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The SNP MSP advised Lanarkshire Reside : "Bus providers are very important to the folks of Rutherglen and Cambuslang to journey for work, training, well being and to buy groceries, however they're additionally a necessary device in our response to the local weather emergency.
"That's the reason it's welcome that the SNP Scottish Authorities is rolling out these powers to native authorities throughout the nation, together with SLC, to make sure now we have a bus service that's match for objective and responds to native transport challenges.
"Scotland’s bus community is being additional revitalised via £500m in long-term funding for bus precedence infrastructure, coupled with the roll out of free bus journey to beneath 22s."
In her letter to Councillor Fagan, Ms Haughey requested: "I'd be grateful in the event you may define whether or not SLC has any plans to utilise these new powers within the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, together with, for instance, via operating their very own bus service or choosing a partnership or franchise method."
Lanarkshire Reside understands that the council will reply in the end, nonetheless the problem was introduced up in a gathering this week, wherein Councillor Fagan claimed additional funding could be required from the Scottish Authorities to make the bus plans possible.
"These new bus legal guidelines do little or no except councils are absolutely funded to deliver native bus networks again beneath management and assure minimal ranges of service.
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"We now have the authority to run municipal bus providers from the SNP Authorities however they're nonetheless depriving us of the means."
A SLC spokesman mentioned: "The brand new powers beneath the Transport (Scotland) Act are famous, and these will probably be thought-about by the council."
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