GLASGOW'S main bus provider has announced it is stopping its night bus service in the city from July 31.

First Glasgow said the decision has been made following a 12-month period of monitoring passenger numbers, which revealed that services were regularly operating with as few as 14 passengers per hour.

The firm said that it had continued to run its night services through the city despite facing significant losses on the night bus routes.

It said numbers would need to treble in order to make the routes viable.

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The announcement comes just weeks after the introduction of the first low emission zone in Scotland in Glasgow, prompting further scrutiny of the city's public transport system with criticisms that transport options in the city are unsatisfactory. 

First Glasgow said the change will affect 11 routes that operate across the city in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Graeme Macfarlan, Commercial Director at First Bus Scotland, said: “We were delighted to be able to reintroduce our night bus network last June in an attempt to support the city’s night-time economy.

“Despite a wide variety of efforts by First Glasgow and partner organisations to increase the number of people using the night buses, it has not reached the level required to sustain these services beyond July. 

"To do so, we would require the number of people using them each weekend to treble overnight, which is not realistic.

“We really wanted to give these services every chance to succeed which is why we have absorbed the operating losses for the last 12 months. 

"It has become clear, however, given the change in behaviour and times people are going out in the city at the weekend, there is not enough appetite in Glasgow for night bus services to successfully operate into the early hours.”

The drivers who work late into the night to deliver these services will be redeployed into the daytime network to further support existing services across the city where passenger recovery is strong and additional capacity is required.

First Glasgow reintroduced its night bus services in June 2022 to help boost the night-time economy in the city as Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.

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Despite significant efforts from First Glasgow to promote the services, including offering free tickets in December last year, passenger numbers remained between 30% and 35%.

First Glasgow also highlighted its concerns on night bus service uptake through meetings with stakeholders and partner organisations as an attempt to secure promotional support.

First Glasgow’s night buses covered travel from the city centre across Glasgow and the surrounding areas including Clydebank, Paisley, Newton Mearns, East Kilbride, Hamilton, Motherwell and Wishaw.