Scottish Borders Council has brought six more bus routes in-house and now runs 19 of the region’s 39 bus services itself.
The routes taken over are the 54 and 74 around Galashiels, the 80 and 81 around Kelso, and the 90, 91 and 93 around Peebles. The council has invested £1.5 million in new accessible minibuses and coaches, and passenger numbers on council-run services have grown sharply.
This is exactly what the Scottish Greens have argued for: buses run for passengers, not for profit. When private operators pull out, public ownership keeps communities connected.
Now the council needs to build on it. That means evening and Sunday services, routes that connect with the train at Tweedbank, and support for the free bus travel for everyone that Scottish Green MSPs are campaigning for.
