£4.2m fund for Scottish bus improvements

BUS services across the length and breadth of the country will be given a share of a £4.2 million fund to help improve standards.

The fund will be shared between 13 projects across Scotland. Picture: Johnston Press

The funds will be split among 13 projects in Scotland over three years, Transport Minister Keith Brown said.

Projects include promoting bus information, enhancing a park and ride site and improving infrastructure.

The grants were made under the first round of Transport Scotland’s bus investment fund.

Mr Brown said: “I would like to congratulate all 13 applicants who have secured substantial funding from this year’s bus investment fund. The projects are spread across the country from Dumfries and Galloway to Inverness.

“This fund provides local authorities, regional transport partnerships and bus operators with the opportunity to apply for grants which will help to increase the standard of bus services and patronage.”

Forty-five bids were made. Grants are limited to £1 million per project.

Among the successful bids are a bus stop information project in Fife, a park and ride improvement scheme at Kingswells, Aberdeen, a rural service in Perthshire and improvements on the A81 in East Dunbartonshire.

Others include a scheme in Clackmannanshire, and Perth and Kinross, where low-frequency public transport will be replaced with a more “cost effective” system using taxi and private-hire car operators.