Glasgow city centre ‘bus ban’ threatens jobs, says Unite
11 August 2010
The ban on bus companies registering new services following
reports of them picking up and dropping off passengers adjacent to
designated stopping areas in Glasgow city centre could threaten bus
drivers’ job security, Unite, the largest union in the country, has
warned.
Unite has written to the leader of Glasgow city council,
councillor Gordon Matheson, asking for discussions to review the
ban which has hit bus companies First Glasgow and Arriva.
The letter to the councillor states: “Whilst our union is
supportive of measures to minimise congestion, we are concerned
that prohibition notices and/or an ultimate sanction of withdrawal
of operators’ licences in certain areas (should the situation not
be improved) would have a detrimental effect on the job security of
our members.
“Unite argues that according to reports - provided by
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (STP) and the city council -
of delays that the buses allegedly cause - it is clear that many of
these are of a very short duration.
“Of 63 reported incidents in Union Street in April and May, 50
of these (over 79 per cent) are of delays of one minute or less.
Over the same period only one reported delay was in excess of two
minutes.
“On discussing this issue with drivers, our shop stewards have
identified that the vast majority of delays can be explained by the
requirement of drivers to regularly check time and route boards,
the blocking of bus cage areas by other loading and unloading
vehicles or (as is the case in Union Street), the need to extend
the bus cage areas to enable proper bus access.
“Given this situation, we would urge the council to ensure that
wardens and SPT inspectors seek explanations for the delays when
these occur and focus on the reporting of those where a
satisfactory explanation is not provided.
“We would also urge that the council conducts a review with a
view to extending bus cage provision in areas such as Union Street,
where a particular problem has been identified.
“The adoption of this approach would, in our view, ensure a
focus on the objective of alleviating congestion rather than an
inflexible approach which as referred to above, could ultimately
have a detrimental affect on the job security of our members.”
ENDS
For further information please call Jackson Cullinane on 07810
157906 or Ashraf Choudhury in the Unite press office on 020 7420
8914 or 07980 224761
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