The Act General background
87.The majority of bus services in Scotland are provided by bus operators on a commercial basis, though they are subject to regulation to ensure that vehicles meet safety and environmental standards, that operators and drivers are suitably qualified and comply with their legal obligations, that services are operated punctually and reliably and that accurate passenger information is made available in good time.
88.These requirements are enforced by the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland, an independent statutory regulator, with the support of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, an agency of the UK Department for Transport. In addition, Bus Users Scotland, a not-for-profit membership organisation, works to promote the interests of bus users, monitors services to see if they are reliable and punctual and works with bus operators to ensure effective mechanisms for dealing with customer complaints.
89.Transport Scotland subsidises a proportion of the overall costs of the bus network (including scheduled and demand responsive services) through Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) which is provided under section 38 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001.
90.Beyond this, the majority of services are funded by passenger fares and by reimbursement payments from Transport Scotland for carrying passengers under the national concessionary bus travel schemes, which account for around a third of all bus journeys.
91.A significant minority of services that would not otherwise be viable receive additional financial support from local transport authorities in order to meet social needs in line with their local transport strategies and plans.
92.In some instances, especially where patronage would be too low to justify conventional scheduled bus services, authorities provide demand responsive or dial ride services using a mix of providers using bus and taxi firms and community transport groups.