(S3O-9834) Electronic Bus Service Registration System

3. Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the progress being made regarding the introduction of the electronic bus service registration system. (S3O-9834)

The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change (Stewart Stevenson):

Electronic bus service registration is a business system to register a bus service with the traffic commissioner for Scotland and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, which is an agency of the United Kingdom Government's Department for Transport. The Scottish Government has no responsibility for the system.

Willie Coffey: I draw the minister's attention to the failure of Strathclyde partnership for transport to implement EBSR properly. I have passed to the minister correspondence that was generated by EBSR on 18 December 2009, concerning the withdrawal of a vital bus service in my constituency. As the area's transport authority, SPT failed to notify East Ayrshire Council of the service withdrawal. Its failure to implement EBSR continued up to this week. Will the minister do what he can to re-establish SPT as a credible transport authority, instead of being a mouthpiece for Glasgow city Labour Party? If that cannot be done, will he consider abolishing SPT and allowing local authorities to establish a useful organisation in its place?

Stewart Stevenson: I note what the member says about SPT. I endorse the remarks that the First Minister made in the chamber last week regarding our expectations for SPT to reform itself. I shall be meeting the regional transport partnership chairs, including the new chairperson of SPT, on 2 June, and I plan to discuss with them their governance arrangements and any need for legislative change in the future.