Glasgow could get a publicly-run bus company as part of plans to bring the city’s transport network under greater public control.
Councillors are being asked to back the exploration of a municipal or regional bus operator alongside moves towards a franchised network across Glasgow and the wider west of Scotland.
A motion due to go before Glasgow City Council on Thursday, 29 October, calls for the Scottish Government to accelerate work on bus franchising in Greater Glasgow and provide financial support to make it happen.
It follows First Minister John Swinney’s pledge to bring Scotland’s bus network “back into public control” through franchising and regulation by the end of the current parliamentary term.
The Glasgow motion, lodged by councillor Angus Millar, goes further by supporting work to investigate whether a publicly-run operator could form part of the future system.
It states that any municipal or regional bus company would require a detailed business case and financial support from the Scottish Government.
Bus services in Glasgow are currently largely operated commercially by private companies, with operators deciding routes and timetables subject to the existing regulatory system.
Under franchising, the transport authority would instead have greater control over issues including routes, frequencies, fares and ticketing, before contracting operators to run services.
The separate proposal for a municipal or regional operator could potentially allow a publicly-controlled company to compete to run services within the franchised network.
Edinburgh already has a publicly-owned operator in Lothian Buses, while changes introduced through the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 gave local transport authorities new powers to operate bus services themselves.
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport is already developing proposals for bus franchising across the region.
Its Regional Bus Strategy, approved in 2025, set out ambitions for more frequent and reliable services, more affordable fares and a better coordinated network.
SPT has since established a Bus Reform Team and started work on the formal assessment required before a franchising system can be introduced.
Glasgow councillors previously backed exploring franchising following the 2022 local elections. The latest motion says 83 of the 85 councillors elected that year stood on manifesto commitments supporting its consideration.
It argues that changing the way buses are controlled could help address gaps in the network, improve frequencies and make services more affordable.
The debate comes after the £2 bus fare cap was extended across Strathclyde in September. Passengers using participating operators can currently pay no more than £2 for an eligible single journey within the area, which covers Glasgow and much of the west of Scotland.
The council motion calls on the Scottish Government to treat Greater Glasgow as an early priority for its plans to bring buses under greater public control.
If approved, Glasgow’s transport convener would write to ministers confirming the city’s support for franchising and offering to work with the Scottish Government on the next stage of bus reform.