THE latest developments at McGill’s Group were among the topics of discussion during a visit by the Shadow Transport Minister to the company’s Johnstone depot.

Graham Simpson MSP met with Alex Hornby, managing director of McGill’s Group, during the visit, where they also discussed funding and prioritisation measures that would allow buses to travel more easily around towns and cities.

Mr Simpson said: "It was great to visit McGill's. We discussed a number of issues, not least the electrification of buses in Scotland.

"McGill's has more than 100 electric buses and Paisley has the greatest proportion of electric buses anywhere in Britain.

"We also discussed some of the funding issues which affect the industry. Thanks to Alex Hornby and the team for their time."

In 2021/22, Scottish bus operators shared £51million in core funding from the government for delivering 79 per cent of public transport journeys, which is 234 million journeys in total.

Meanwhile, rail in Scotland received £1.4billion from the public for delivering 16 per cent of these journeys over the same period.

After his visit, Mr Simpson also visited Paisley to observe McGill's operations and engage with customers and other colleagues.

Mr Hornby said: "We were pleased to welcome the Shadow Minster for Transport to our Johnstone depot and chat through the latest developments at McGill’s Group and on transport policy more generally.

"Buses are so important to Scotland’s communities and economy and it is vital that we as a company represent the views of the sector to Scotland’s policymakers.

"McGill’s has more than 100 electric buses across four depots and these zero-emission vehicles have been a huge hit with passengers over the last two years.

"We want to increase the number of people who leave the car keys at home and choose to use these buses and we’re glad to take the time to speak to Mr Simpson, as we do with other MSPs from across the political spectrum, to enable that to happen."