The Scottish Greens have called on the Scottish Government to help North Ayrshire Council to take local bus services into public ownership.

The call follows the publication of figures by the independent Scottish Parliament Information Centre, showing that in the 20 years of devolution bus fares have rocketed by almost 80 per cent and bus use has fallen by 15 per cent.

Ross Greer, Scottish Green MSP for the West of Scotland, said: “People are fed up with poor bus services in North Ayrshire.

“For too long private operators have been able to cherry pick the most profitable routes, leaving many communities cut off.

“It’s no wonder that passenger numbers continue to fall when fares are at a record high.

“The Greens launched a Better Buses campaign to give councils more powers to run local bus services, improving reliability and fares. That campaign led to these powers being included in the recently passed Transport Bill.

“They and SPT now need support from the Scottish Government to ensure all communities can be served by a quality, integrated, transport network fit for the 21st century.”

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “Our draft National Transport Strategy is clear that buses are a key part of the sustainable public transport system, which helps address the climate emergency.

“We are working with partners to make services more attractive and to increase passenger numbers.

“The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 offers an ambitious new model for bus services.

“It provides local authorities with options to improve services in their area, including a new statutory Bus Service Improvement Partnership (BSIP) model for local transport authorities to work with bus operators to deliver better bus services.

“In addition to over £260 million that we spend every year on supporting bus services, we are bringing forward long term funding of more than half a billion pounds for a Bus Partnership Fund for local authorities and to roll out infrastructure for the trunk road network to prioritise buses in congested areas, helping improve punctuality and reliability.

“The Transport Act also provides the option for local authorities to operate their own bus services.

“In addition, more than a third of bus passengers already benefit from free bus services through our concessionary travel scheme.”