Scotland’s bus network is set for its biggest shake-up in decades after John Swinney pledged to bring services under public control by 2031.
The First Minister says the change will give public bodies much greater control over where buses run, how frequently they operate and potentially how much passengers pay.
For people waiting at a bus stop, however, the most important point is that this does not necessarily mean buses will suddenly become publicly owned.
Private companies such as First Bus, Stagecoach and McGill’s could continue operating services across Scotland.
The major difference would be who decides what those services look like.
At present, much of Scotland’s bus network operates commercially. Private operators largely determine the routes they run, their timetables and fares, while councils and other public bodies can subsidise services that would otherwise not be commercially viable.
Under a franchised system, that balance of power changes.
A local or regional transport authority can design the network it wants and specify routes, service frequencies and standards. Bus companies then compete for contracts giving them the right to operate those services.
Transport Scotland describes franchising as a system in which a transport authority awards exclusive rights to operate specified services to the successful bidder for a set period.
For passengers, it could mean a bus network designed as one system rather than a collection of individual commercial routes.
Authorities could potentially decide that a community needs an evening service even if that particular journey would not make a profit on its own, or coordinate routes so buses connect more effectively with trains and other services.
It could also make it easier to simplify fares and ticketing across different operators.
Swinney announced at the SNP conference in Aberdeen that his government intends to use “franchising and regulation” to bring the bus network under public control by the end of the current Scottish Parliament in 2031.
The Scottish Government says regional transport partnerships would be given greater influence over routes and fares without ministers having to own the companies operating the buses. New legislation is expected to be introduced at Holyrood next year.
Does this mean bus companies will be nationalised?
No, public control and public ownership are different things.
Under franchising, buses could still belong to private companies and drivers could continue to work for private operators.
The public authority would effectively become the network planner, while operators would be contracted to provide the services.
Councils already have the power to operate buses themselves under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, meaning publicly owned services could also form part of the system.
The legislation also already gives transport authorities powers to establish franchises. The regulations needed to make those powers fully operational are now in place, with detailed Scottish Government guidance published in March 2026.
The precise changes contained in the new Bill promised by Swinney have not yet been published.
Could fares become cheaper?
Not automatically. Franchising gives authorities more control over fares, but it does not guarantee that every ticket will become cheaper.
The Scottish Government is separately expanding its £2 single bus fare policy.
The cap is currently operating in Strathclyde and the Highlands and Islands, with Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire due to join the scheme from April 2027. Swinney has said the intention is to extend it across Scotland by 2031.
That fare cap and bus franchising are separate policies, although together they could eventually give government and regional transport authorities substantially more influence over the price passengers pay.
Could routes that have been cut come back?
Potentially, and this is one of the main arguments for the change.
Under a franchised network, authorities can consider the network as a whole instead of relying entirely on whether each individual route is commercially attractive.
That could allow profitable routes to form part of a wider system which also serves communities where passenger numbers are lower.
It does not mean every withdrawn route would automatically be restored.
Running more buses, particularly on lightly used rural or evening services, costs money. The scale of any expansion would therefore depend on how much funding governments and transport authorities are prepared to provide.
The Scottish Government argues intervention is needed after years in which communities have seen bus services withdrawn.
There were around 334 million bus journeys in Scotland in 2024-25, up 2% on the previous year, but passenger numbers remain 31% below their 2007-08 peak.
The number of buses in operators’ fleets has also fallen by 15% since 2019-20, according to official figures.
What could passengers actually notice?
If the policy works as intended, the most noticeable changes could eventually include more coordinated routes and timetables, greater protection for services considered socially important and a simpler approach to fares and tickets.
There could also be greater public accountability when a service is poor or a community wants a timetable changed.
Instead of decisions about routes being primarily commercial decisions taken by operators, elected councils or regional transport bodies would have a much larger role in deciding what services should be provided.
The change is unlikely to happen overnight.
Franchising requires authorities to assess the proposed network, develop a franchising framework and go through a formal approval process before contracts can be awarded.
There are also transitional rules intended to ensure existing services continue while a new system is introduced.
Why are bus companies unhappy?
Not every operator supports the plan. McGill’s, Scotland’s largest independent bus operator, has reacted angrily to Swinney’s announcement and warned that it could pursue legal action.
Company chairman Ralph Roberts said removing an operator’s ability to run the network it had built before putting those routes out to competitive tender amounted to “business confiscation”.
The company has also warned that franchising could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds.
Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth defended the plans, saying government was seeking to protect passengers after communities had experienced route withdrawals. She said ministers would continue working with operators as the policy develops.
The argument over Scotland’s buses is therefore likely to intensify when the legislation reaches Holyrood next year.
For passengers, though, the basic change is relatively simple. Instead of bus companies largely deciding where and when they want to operate, public authorities would increasingly decide what bus network Scotland needs – and then pay operators to deliver it.