Buses

My first bus - Farringdon Park to Preston Town Centre

I was daydreaming about my lifetime experience of buses on the Ember Bus back from Glasgow. It has become a familiar journey over the past eighteen months, as I have given up going to Glasgow by car; the traffic congestion is horrendous. Parking is too expensive or dependent on an App (RingGo) for all on-street parking. The Council has effectively hived off one of its income streams to a commercial money maker. There are no longer any public toilets in Glasgow, but Ember buses terminate at Buchanan Street bus station, which is handy for the conveniences at John Lewis. 

Ember buses have revived my faith in buses. They operate with new electric coaches that travel at least as quick as cars and have internet access and comfortable seats. Booking could not be simpler with an App that shows you where your bus is and sends you a message if it is more than 4 minutes late. They have recently acquired a massive grant from the Scottish Government Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund to purchase a further 100 Yutong electric buses. This will allow them to complete a network of routes between Scotland's cities and main towns, a sustainable alternative to car travel. And looking at the passengers on Ember Buses and talking to fellow travellers has convinced me that this is happening. For the most part, they are folks who have forsaken their cars for less hassle and the comfort of the Ember coaches. Admittedly, many use their Entitlement Cards, but the aim of the net-zero plan was to reduce car travel by 20%. The other losers to the Ember buses could be ScotRail, which may be slightly faster, but also far more costly and less comfortable.

The last time I was so excited by bus travel was as a child, when buses were the only way to travel in most towns and cities after the trams and trolley buses were scrapped. I travelled from my grandparents' house, where we stayed, to the town centre for shopping on the Farrindon Park route twice a week. It had a 5-minute frequency, and the buses ran to tight timetables, dictated by work hooters and school bells. Going to school, I became a great fan of step-on back platforms that could be accessed by running after the bus and jumping on as it accelerated and then being admonished by conductors in municipal uniforms with shiny ticket machines and a normally cheery countenance.

There were also long-distance coaches like the Ribble Leyland Tigers that took me to London when I was three. Apparently, I became very worried when we stopped in Birmingham for a break, shouting, "Where's the driver?" as he drifted off for a cup of tea and a pee. Ribble buses also provided a wonderful service in the north west, and I was taken on regular trips to Blackpool, Lytham and Morecombe by doting grandparents. Further afield, Ribble buses facilitated Alfred Wainwright to travel from Kendal to all parts of the Lake District, from where he could climb 214 Lakeland Fells. They were eulogised and became immortalised in his seven books about the Lakeland Fells, now referred to as the Wainwrights. They were chosen as much by accessibility via the Ribble Bus timetable as by their height or difference in height from adjacent hills.

For 10 years, I travelled every day by bus to secondary school and then to university in the 1960s and early 70s. Living in Glasgow in the 1970s, I had the choice of bus or underground. In the 1980s, I used to run to work or occasionally catch the bus or use the car. Buses were slow on the clogged-up city centre roads and were smoke-filled on the upper deck. They became a source of disdain, as when Mrs Thatcher was alleged to have said: "If a man finds himself on a bus by the age of 26, he can count himself a failure." She didn't say this; according to Alistair Cook, it was attributed to the Duchess of Westminster, a cut-glass snob in the 1920s. 

Mrs Thatcher did, however, introduce the 1985 Transport Act, which deregulated local bus services, allowing the privatisation of bus services. This led to the effective demise of local authority bus services in all but a few places: Lothian, Dumfries and Galloway, Nottingham, Cardiff, and Blackpool, which had also maintained its trams, amongst them. By the 1980s, buses were not a lifestyle way of travelling for those with cars.  But they were the only way to travel for the poorest in society. Standards dropped, timetables became fictional, prices increased as competition between companies inevitably gave way to monopolies and further price increases.

In the early noughties, I was involved in a Scottish working group to introduce a Scottish-wide identity card. It involved the Scottish Executive (now Scottish Government), the Councils and the NHS. We were seeking to establish a citizens’ account or identity number integrating National Insurance numbers, NHS numbers and electoral roll and council tax address information from Councils. It was seen as a means of sharing information between Health, Education, Social Work, and Police, and a way to keep the electoral roll up to date and to give entitlement to council services like libraries, leisure facilities and school dinners. It would also have significantly reduced the number of people on the list of local medical practices. In Glasgow, there were over 10% more people on these lists than the total population. People did not tend to notify practices when they moved elsewhere.

The citizen account number would be linked to a single address, and this identity would provide the entitlement to a wide range of public services. It was going well, not least because of the creative work carried out by Dundee City Council, which had a working example of an identity card. Alas, following the 2007 election, the citizens’ account was dropped as a comprehensive scheme by the new government that was feart of the civil liberties lobby. The only parts that continued were the National Entitlement Card, essentially the bus pass, and a Proof of Age scheme, both of which were voluntary. Fears of Big Brother saw the rest of the initiative being too radical for our increasingly centralised democracy, which was too distant to understand the operational benefits of citizens' ID.

The Entitlement Card had an upside in that hundreds of thousands of pensioners and young people were given the freedom of Scotland by Scottish-wide bus travel. Edinburgh trams were excluded, except for Edinburgh residents, despite being largely funded by the Scottish taxpayer. The mock-ups of the Entitlement Card were in the name of Winston Smith of Nineteen-Eighty-Four notoriety; perhaps there were some humourists in the Edinburgh City Council. Winston was fighting against Big Brother whilst getting laid by Julia. 

After retirement, my Entitlement Card was used regularly to catch the 915 City Link Bus from Crianlarich to Skye. The bus was always full of elderly folk mesmerised by the scenery as they travelled across Rannoch Moor and through Glencoe or caught the views into Knoydart and the Five Sisters before reaching the Skye Bridge. It was a better tonic than a visit to the Doctor; the bus was a happy place. I was often queried about my age by the regular female driver as I heaved my rucksack onto the bus and asked to be dropped at a remote location in Glencoe or Glenshiel.  I would spend two days walking over and camping in the hills, and get picked up the next day at another stop for the return journey. The flexibility and the comfort of a City Link bus were a prized service to explore the Scottish Mountains. Like the Ember Bus trips to the cities.

Yes, buses are becoming a lifestyle choice again as well as an essential public service.

Leyland Tiger - where's the driver

Ribble Bus - Wainwright's Side Kick

Glasgow Corporation Bus - Journey to Work in 1970s

City Link Bus in Glencoe

Ember Bus

Someone's taking the piss

Glasgow Central Station Fire

It looks like Dresden, I thought as I peered over the fencing and looked down Union Street. The dreich Glasgow afternoon provided the perfect setting for what was left of the building on Union Corner at the epicentre of Glasgow. The cupola that had adorned the building had been shed following a fire started at a vape shop. An unintended consequence of the 2006 Scottish Smoking Ban.

All trains into Central Station had been cancelled, even 8 days later, and the usual search for culprits was underway. The locally based high-reach appliances in Glasgow were not available, and others had to be brought in from Coatbridge, Falkirk and Edinburgh. Would they have saved the cupola? Who knows, and that will probably be the answer in a year or so when the inquiry is published. Unfortunately, there have been far too many splendid Victorian buildings subjected to fires or, more commonly, developer vandalism in recent years

The Lord Provost has suggested a five-star hotel on the site. After all, it is handy for buses and trains, and there is a Greggs just across Gordon Street. There were a few other voyeurs like myself, and Drury Lane was filling up with groups of middle-aged construction workers in search of a bevvy. I had spent too long sitting in a restaurant for a reunion lunch with work colleagues, and my hips were sore. I dragged myself up Buchanan Street to catch the ever-efficient and comfortable Ember Bus back to the Park and Ride.

View from Hope Street with Central Station frontage

View from Renfield Street

 

Iran: evidence that the UK needs a revised democracy

The illegal declaration of war on Iran by Netanyahu, quickly endorsed by a miffed Trump, who was not happy when his America First mantra was outgunned by Israel First. His characteristic dismissal of the United Nations and belief in the USA's right to exert its power have not just disrupted but exploded the world's peace efforts. His lack of diplomatic skills meant that the UK and Europe, supposedly NATO allies, were not informed until the day before the attack. Starmer, unsurprisingly, refused to join the attacks given the lack of legal justification and with the nagging experience of the Iraq war in mind.

The consequences of the action are not going well for Trump as the war has cascaded to all the Gulf States. Deaths are already in the thousands, retaliatory strikes have been made on American bases and oil refineries across the Gulf, oil and gas prices have rocketed, and the cost of living is on an upward trajectory. According to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, only 27% of Americans public agreee with Trump's war, and that seems to be diminishing every time Pete Hegseth, the appropriately named Secretary of War, updates with undisguised glee the damage and deaths inflicted on Iran.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the latest Survation poll shows that 69% of the electorate oppose the war or believe we should remain neutral. Only 6% agree with Kemi Badenoch's argument that we should have joined the war effort. No surprise there, she is ferociously binary on most issues, and belligerence is her core value in any debate. On the assumption that Farage is in Trump's pocket, it suggests that the so-called right-wing parties, by being in hock to Trump's American policies, are totally out of touch with the UK electorate. Trump is becoming one of the defining issues influencing voters; woe betide parties that have supported his fiction of facts and flip-flappery.

Set this against the most recent opinion polls in the UK. These suggest that Reform and the Conservatives would receive around 45%of the vote, with the vote for the centre-left parties: Labour, Greens, Lib Dems, and the Scottish and Welsh Independents split fairly evenly. With little likelihood of the Conservative and Labour parties obtaining a clear majority, it is surely time to introduce a proportional voting system for the House of Commons that accommodates the multi-party reality that is the new norm. Reform and the Greens, influenced by the Gorton and Denton by-election and the opinion polls, would prefer to risk continuing with the present first-past-the-post system. We need a democratic abacus that is fairer but also retains strong links between the MP and the constituency.

The UK Parliament is no longer fit for purpose. In a bicameral system, do we need 650 MPs? Reducing the Commons to 450 MPs would still leave it larger than the average representation in the parliaments of the six largest European Union countries, and 450 MPs would match the capacity of the benches in the chamber.  It would also allow them to focus on national policies and possibly reduce their interference in local affairs that are the responsibility of Councils. 

Similarly, how can we justify 850 members of the House of Lords? A second chamber focusing on scrutiny and revising legislation would work better with a combination of elected representatives from the regions, together with independently chosen individuals (tribunes) for their specialist knowledge, and a people's jury (boule), drawn to represent the wider public. In other words, providing a bicameral system where the revising/scrutiny function (Senate) is independent of the Commons and comprises a balance of elected representatives, a comprehensive range of expert opinion and a representative voice of the public. It would be more balanced, nuanced and about a third of the size of the House of Lords; again, this would match the capacity on the benches. This approach would take some of the elements from the earliest democracies in Athens and Rome, along with directly elected members. 

Rob Roy Way: Lochearnhead to Strathyre

Leaving Lochearnhead

Friday, 6 March 2026

Distance:    10 kilometres
Time:          2 hours 16 minutes

Aileen and I began walking the Rob Roy Way after we retired. The intention was to start at Pitlochry and walk north to south, the opposite way of the normal route. For reasons of bus timetables changing and, in my case, the perpetual pull of Munros, we never completed the sections.  I still have two of the 8 sections to complete: Aberfeldy to Acharn and Killin to Strathyre. I decided to walk half of the latter section today as part of bedding in my new hip. I figured that 10 kilometres would be challenging enough, my longest walk since last July. 

I caught the excellent C60 mini bus to Lochearnhead and met a woman who used to live in Brig a'Turk and was a friend of Ellie and Stanley, my in-laws. She had run a care home and was visiting her husband, who was in the community-run care home in Killin. She was angry that Callander's private care homes had both closed, but was full of praise for Killin, which had taken over a private care home. This was largely down to John MacPherson, a redoubtable community activist, who had been the chair of the Community Council and had badgered the Council to provide the support for a community buy-out. My colleague, Helen Munro, had responded to the request with characteristic vim and chivvied the Health Board into giving support as well. The home remains a lasting example of community engagement and the willingness of the Council and Health Board to be proactive in their support.

I got off the bus at the centre of Lochearnhead at Cameron Crescent, a group of 15 social rented houses that we had obtained funding for from the Scottish Office in 1999. The sun was shining, and my mood was euphoric as I headed south for a kilometre to reach the side road leading to the Rob Roy Way. Could I manage a 10-kilometre walk?. Until a few years ago, I would run this distance 3 or 4 times a week.

Arriving at the gate that gave access to the Way, the buds of Spring were bursting with colour.  I settled into a steady pace, rotating my head to observe the arc of snow-capped hills. After making a mistake in following a road to Edinchip, I quickly returned to the route and met a father and daughter enjoying a break on one of the benches located on the route. The man was in his sixties and had an infectious enthusiasm, having taken up photography after a hip operation and discovered the delights of walking the trails. 

I battered on through the native woodland on a twisting path towards the Balquidder junction, where the views to Loch Voil opened up. Stob Binnein was visible, its snow-white, flat-topped, distinctive profile reminding me of eight visits to one of the highest Munros in the South Highlands. The first time was in 1978, it was my first Munro after recovering from a broken leg and meeting Aileen. She dropped her two brothers and me at Crianlarich, and we walked over Ben More and Stob Binnein to Inverlochlarig. The most recent occasion was in August 2022; it was the last Munro I climbed before she passed away. Stob Binnein would now be a memorial to those 44 years.

There had been several cyclists on the route. Some on sturdy mountain bikes, quite a few on electric bikes and some on gravel bikes. A lone elderly female runner had passed with a smile that suggested she was oozing endorphins. I envied her; I had not run since last May, and even that was downhill.

Beyond the Balquidder road, I inadvertently continued on the cycle path rather than crossing the A85 on the Rob Roy Way, which took a route through the forestry plantations. It was an easy section passing alongside fields with horses and stables, others with sheep, but no lambs yet, and there were even some pigs. I arrived in Strathyre knowing that I had probably gone further than I should. I visited the local shop and post office that had been managed by a community activist who had been elected to serve on the Board of the National Park when I was the returning officer. The present owners of the shop had no knowledge of what had happened to him, despite his vigorous campaigning for many initiatives in the area. I eased my aching legs into the car, drove home and soaked in the bath. I have missed returning home at the end of long days on the hills to Aileen, a beer, bath and meal. The bonus today was being invited out for dinner by a neighbour. 

Entering the Rob Roy Way at Craggan

Its part of the National Cycle Route 7 as well

Replacement for the viaduct

Edinchip

Cycling nirvana

Stob Binnein, the white peak

Munro Hotel Strathyre, venue for drinks after Munro bashing

For Aileen

 

Rachel Reeves Spring Statement

 

Blue Labour at the despatch box

Today's YouGov poll, taken on 2 March 2026, puts Reform UK on 23%, the Greens on 21%, and Labour and Conservatives on 16%. Who would have thought it even 12 months ago, when the Tories were haemorrhaging votes to Reform UK and Labour were beginning to reap the anger following Rachel Reeves first budget. 

The spring statement had Chancellor Reeves facing Mel Stride, and they gave a performance reminiscent of Millwall versus Wimbledon in the 1990s. All pent-up anger and aggression with little finesse and no goals. Reeves was adamant that her plan for the economy was working. Strident said she had no plan. I switched off in despair. I had learnt nothing apart from the fact that 16% seemed a high bar for the Labour and Conservative parties. Their rampant tribalism, wound up by an ever bellicose Kemi Badenoch, is a major factor in their demise.

Mel Stride was a player in the economic decline foisted on the country during the Tory years, and his use of selected statistics to divert the blame to the Labour Government has all the authority of a toddler playing with an abacus. Reeves has no self-awareness that her tone and claims of righteousness are as much a turn-off as Trump's posts on Truth Social. Moreover, she continues to believe in controlling public finances, supporting big projects that will take decades to come to fruition and thinking she knows best. Her failure to trust localities and businesses to take responsibility for the parts of the economy they know best should prompt her early dismissal. 

There are some talented economists on the Labour benches with radical ideas to streamline taxation and devolve budgets. They would be far more adept at challenging treasury rules and setting a path for the future economy of the UK. If Starmer has any bottle after the Gorton debacle, he would bring on his bench.