The redevelopment of five key bus routes in Glasgow have entered the next stage as part of a council bid to improve public transport. 

The local authority has commissioned Jacobs Steer to create a set of proposals to help the council’s mission to transform the way people get around the city by developing public transport and active travel options. 

There are already plans for the Clyde Metro to be delivered over the next three decades as well as short-term improvements to the city’s bus network.

Jacobs Steer is now working on behalf of the Glasgow Bus Partnership (GBP) to develop evidence that will allow the city council to submit bids for the five existing “bus corridors” to the bus partnership fund next year. 

The corridors include:  

  • Paisley Road West from Glasgow Central Station to Paisley Gilmour Street Station.
  • Dumbarton Road from Clydebank Railway Station to High Street Station.
  • Maryhill Road from Bearsden Cross and from Boclair Road via Canniesburn Toll to Glasgow Central Station.
  • Great Western Road from Kilbowie Roundabout to High Street.
  • Pollokshaws Road from Glasgow Central Station to Shawlands then Pollokshaws Road to Thornliebank Railway Station and Kilmarnock Road to Eastwood Toll.   

An update was brought before the Hillhead area partnership committee this week. 

A spokesperson for Jacobs Steer said: “As we move into 2024 to 2025 we will hopefully be in a position to deliver some of these proposals subject to approval and funding being available.

“We are currently collecting people’s views on what the problems are [with the current service]. We have spoken to bus operators, bus user groups and SPT.

“Some of the main issues which came out of that were bus delays at traffic signals, too many parked vehicles on the street, traffic speed, poor pedestrian crossing opportunities and a lack of bus lane enforcement.”

So far some of the improvements include creating more bus gates and bus only streets, segregated bus lanes, traditional bus lanes used at specific times of the day and virtual bus lanes where buses mix with general traffic, but general traffic is held at a red signal in advance of the mixed section, with buses therefore able to skip the queue. 

Members of the area partnership were then asked for their views on the proposals. 

Stewart Leighton, of the partnership, said: “I welcome in principle what is being proposed, there are lots of innovative ideas here. Of the five corridors, a number of them to some extent, duplicate rail corridors also.

“In the spirit of integration and coordination and in relation to the proposed ticketing system, I would like to think that would also include rail and not just underground.

“The whole point about getting around the city is to be able to change between modes of transport conveniently.

“I noticed that they are going to consider the position of bus stops and having a more even distribution along any given corridor but where that corridor is passing close to a railway station, it would be useful to have some sort of indication that it is an interchangeable stop.”

The Jacobs Steer spokesman confirmed that this project was part of the wider strategy the council is taking forward which will include integrated ticketing.