McGill’s Group to introduce night-time services to Glasgow

McGill’s Buses, the UK’s largest independent bus operator owned by Scottish billionaire brothers Sandy and James Easdale, has confirmed it is to introduce a new night bus service for Glasgow.

The decision comes following dialogue with Glasgow City Council and a number of other stakeholders following First’s announcement that it was intending to conclude its night-time services in the city.

McGill’s will initially operate an hourly service between 00:15 and 03:45 on Fridays and Saturdays across five key routes:

N3> City Centre – Shawlands – Thornliebank – Nitshill – Pollok
N4 > City Centre – Shawlands – Eastwood – Newton Mearns
N6 > City Centre – Anniesland – Scotstoun – Clydebank
N38> City Centre – Ibrox – Paisley
N60> City Centre – Maryhill – Drumchapel

Following discussions, First Bus has said it also plans to continue operating four separate night bus routes between 12:45am and 3am on Friday and Saturday nights.

McGill’s added that it intends to build upon its initial provision to extend the service beyond two nights a week in future.

McGill’s also confirmed that its night-time bus network will be run on electric, zero-emission buses.

Ralph Roberts, CEO of McGill’s Group, said:

“Buses are vital to the success of Glasgow and we’ve been striving to find a solution that serves the night-time economy, residents and visitors.

“We’re delighted to be announcing an initial five night-time bus routes that will be run by McGill’s serving the city.

“McGill’s Group has been in discussions with Glasgow businesses to understand the issues they have been facing with transport and we have also deployed our management and staff overnight to the city centre to examine what measures Glasgow City Council could take on roads and streets to help buses deliver a better service for passengers. Our intention is to build our night-time services in future and work with the council and businesses to help achieve that.

“There will be a range of ticket options available on night-time services, including discounts for regular users and McGill’s ticket holders, and we will announce more details on that shortly.”

James Easdale, chairman of McGill’s Group, said:

“We committed last month to exploring what was commercially viable for introducing a McGill’s night bus network in Glasgow and we’re pleased to be able to announce an initial five routes today.

“The network will run on our zero-emission electric fleet that we have invested in so heavily since 2021.

“From speaking to passengers and business owners, there is substantial concern regarding Glasgow city centre and its ability to attract people and investment in order that it can prosper for the next decade and beyond.

“McGill’s has listened and stepped up with these new services that we would hope to add to in future. However, for the Glasgow night-time economy to prosper, this cannot be seen as a ‘job done’ moment. Civic leaders need to ensure they are providing a long-term strategy that encourages public transport use and makes it easier for operators such as ourselves to deliver better services for passengers.”

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