Last bus from Glasgow airport at 11pm means it’s ‘easier’ to get home from Edinburgh airport

Concerns are being raised that holidaymakers and staff at Glasgow Airport have ‘no choice’ but to pay for taxis home, as the latest Airport Express 500 service is running stops at 11 p.m. every night at present.

First Glasgow says last night’s Glasgow Airport Express 500 service departs at 11pm ‘due to a combination of ‘driver shortages’ and ‘current flight schedule’ at the airport, but plans are in place. underway” for a later arrival “in the near future.

The current timetable means that, as the Citylink AIR service between Buchanan Coach Station and Edinburgh Airport operates 24/7, it is actually easier for Glasgow residents to get home them from Edinburgh airport than from Glasgow airport.

Glasgow MSP Paul Sweeney responded to the news saying it was ‘beyond a joke’ that a city as big as Glasgow has no direct public transport links to the airport, and called for plans for a direct rail link with the metro to come to fruition. .

He said Glasgow Live“It’s really beyond joking that a city of Glasgow’s size and international stature doesn’t have direct public transport links to the airport. The plans have been praised in the past by the council and the Scottish government, only to be filed away in a box marked ‘too difficult’. In 2007, a comprehensive plan was ready to be developed, but the SNP administration disconnected and sold the land on which it was to be developed. Whenever these plans are frustrated, it is the people of Glasgow who pay the price, and urgent plans and adequate funding to rectify the problem are needed immediately to push forward plans for a Glasgow Metro.

“This myopia not only impacts vacationers, but those who work at the airport and cannot drive often find themselves in taxis home late at night due to the lack of public transport. With Glasgow’s public transport infrastructure sorely lacking in investment and ambition, it’s no wonder most Glasgow residents stick to their cars with the resulting environmental consequences. seen at COP26 with climate delegates being forced into taxis, and frankly it’s mortifying.

“We need ambition from the Scottish government in this regard. When I raised the issue in the past I was told by the SNP-led government and Glasgow City Council that I was overstating the seriousness of the situation, but I do believe that the people of Glasgow in are really fed up with the lack of progress here. All major cities in Europe have better transport links to their airports than we do, and at the end of the day, all the people of Glasgow want is for Glasgow to prosper. Convenient and affordable travel to Glasgow Airport is just one part of the infrastructure improvements needed, and I urge the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council to butt heads and finally build a direct link by metro between the city center and the airport.

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Volunteer campaigner Ellie Harrison, from public transport campaign group Get Glasgow Moving, said the airport would be “properly served” by public transport if their calls for a regulated bus network across Glasgow were met.

She said Glasgow Live“We want the region’s entire bus network to be regulated so that bus routes can be planned and coordinated to meet passenger needs, rather than simply set up at the whim of private bus companies.

“On a much broader level, if we regulated buses across the region, we could ensure that the airport was properly served alongside all other parts of the city and that there was a fair price. London to get to Heathrow [Airport] there is a main train, there is the underground and there is the Heathrow Express. If you take the tube or the main train, the cost is the same as any other tube station on the network, and that’s obviously because the whole network is properly regulated by Transport for London.”

In response, John Elliot, Glasgow’s first network manager, said Glasgow Live: “Our Glasgow Airport Express 500 service has been badly affected by the reduction in air travel as a result of Covid-19. Travel restrictions have seen demand for the service plummet overnight and a significant reduction in frequency followed.

“As the number of flights to and from Glasgow Airport continues to increase, demand for our Glasgow Airport Express 500 has followed a similar trend. We continue to work closely with Glasgow Airport to ensure that our service is aligned with these levels of demand.

“The latest service currently connects Glasgow Airport to Buchanan Coach Station at 11pm due to a combination of industry-wide driver shortages and the current flight schedule. Plans are in place for a slightly later finish time for the Glasgow Airport Express 500 service commencing in the near future.