Glasgow Subway user demands SPT pay for her taxi after service failure

Sky Johnstone - an annual ticket holder - was making her usual commute from Govan to Hillhead last week when the closure forced her to get a taxi to avoid being late for work.

Having already shelled out £470 for a season ticket, Sky feels SPT should reimburse her for the £9.90 cab fare.

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“We shouldn’t be paying out for taxis to get to work when we’ve already paid for a service which should be running,” fumed Sky.

The 33-year-old Govan resident told Glasgow Times that she tried calling SPT’s customer service to request reimbursement, but could not reach anyone - despite ringing 30 times.

“I kept phoning, but no answer,” she said.

She added: “The voicemail said ‘we’re working from home, so please be patient. If we don’t answer, please call back, or please e-mail.’ I don’t understand why that message was still up. What does it even mean?

“I tried calling 30 times in a row from 10am. I just kept calling back. Is there anybody actually there taking phone calls? I don’t think so.”

Her demands come after at least 18 incidents on one or both lines being suspended due to faults since the start of April. The suspension of service was confirmed by Subway each time on X formerly known Twitter. We previously also reported that one incident involved passengers having to walk through tunnels to escape a broken-down new train.

Sky said that she feels worried about getting on a new Subway train.

“I feel anxious now getting on the Subway if I don’t have water with me,” she told us. “I’m not sure of what’s going to happen once I get on that train. Will I get stuck? It doesn’t feel like a safe journey anymore.

“I’ve spoken to older ladies who are quite anxious about what happens if it breaks down - how are they going to manage? How are they going to cope walking through the tunnels?"

Despite previously being a big advocate of the Subway, Sky said the recent issues meant she is now considering ditching it altogether.

“I have a yearly pass, but I’m considering asking for a refund, because I don’t want to use the Subway anymore,” she said regretfully.

“I’ve used the Subway since I moved to Glasgow when I was 19. I always raved about it. My sister lives in Ibrox, I’m in Govan, and our parents live in Hillhead. And we deliberately located our flats around the Subway, because it is such a great service - or it used to be.

“But in the last three months, it’s got progressively worse. Whenever I’m on a Subway or at a station, that’s what everyone is talking about.

“When I got the Subway last Saturday after I finished work, everyone in my carriage was talking about how they’d been standing there on the platform for 20 minutes, even though the sign said it was a six minute service.

“People can feel that it’s not as reliable as it used to be, and they’re feeling the effects of that. And I think that SPT know it’s gotten worse, but they don’t want to say anything. It feels like a lack of respect towards the commuters.

“I can’t believe they’ve spent so much money on something that doesn’t work.”

An SPT spokesperson said: “We apologise unreservedly to all passengers impacted by any recent disruption suffered while travelling on the Subway. We are currently facing very particular challenges where we have very old rolling stock which is prone to breakdowns and an old signalling system on which we are introducing 21st century train technology.

“Our staff are also adapting to new processes to deal with the new technology involved. We remain focused on improving Subway reliability, which is very important to us and to our customers.

“We are confident many of the current challenges will be overcome as the introduction of the new rolling stock is complete and we continue to replace our signalling and communications system.

“Our phone lines can be busy and we do always encourage people to e-mail in the first instance and we will respond within five working days.

“All our staff are fully trained to deal with any incidents that arise on the Subway and we have comprehensive processes in place to deal with suspensions for any reason while in service to ensure the safety of passengers at all times.”

The new trains were due to be operating without drivers by 2020 but did not come into passenger service until December 11 2023. It is not currently expected that the trains will be driverless until 2026.

The Subway modernisation program has a budget of £288m, £246m of which is being provided by the Scottish government.