McGill Buses Invest in High Technology

McGill invests in high technology to lure more travellers out of their cars.

18:16 08 April 2019

Bus company McGill is relying on high technology to convince more travellers to use their service instead of their cars. By investing heavily to improve comfort and meet the demands of modern passengers, the company hopes to help cut congestion on the roads.

 

Recent data confirms that one of the reasons for the declining bus use is dissatisfaction over reliability and cutbacks in routes. The government has reduced concessionary grants because of budget cuts.

 

McGill is set to launch 26 news buses it bought from Falkirk manufacturer Alexander Dennis to serve Glasgow and the west of Scotland. The vehicles are equipped with on-board WiFi and a USB charging socket for smartphones. They also exceed the Glasgow Low Emission Zone (LEZ) standard which came into effect in the city centre on 31 December.

 

Bus company boss Sandy Easdale said: “We’ve made more than £30m of investment in our operations over the past five years, with around £24m focused on new fleet and nearly £7m of infrastructure investment including ticket machines, real time tracking, mobile and contactless ticketing and smart card systems.

 

“Most politicians and policymakers agree that it is vital that we encourage the public to reduce their car journeys and cut congestion in the process. However, ditching the car only becomes an appealing prospect to people when we are investing in state-of-the-art buses such as those we are now unveiling.