Bus company McGill's joins campaign to show Scotland Loves Local

McGill’s Bus Group has teamed up with Scotland’s Towns Partnership ahead of the first Scotland Loves Local Week, which begins on August 28.

The UK’s largest independent bus company runs services across east central Scotland under the Midland Bluebird livery, and elsewhere in Scotland.

The aim of the partnership is to encourage greater footfall in the nation’s town centres by using McGill’s increasingly environmentally friendly bus fleet.

McGill’s group managing director Alex Hornby said: “We’re really excited to be working with Scotland’s Towns Partnership. As a fiercely proud, family-owned Scottish company, we are completely aligned in terms of the local agenda and we believe the bus is a powerful enabler to the economic health of Scotland’s villages, towns and cities.

"With over 100 buses in our fleet already zero-emission electric, we are keen that the bus is seen as the solution to the shared problems of accessibility, congestion and carbon emissions, and therefore the sustainability, attractiveness and success of the local centres we serve.”

Scotland Loves Local, which is spearheaded by Scotland’s Towns Partnership and supported by the Scottish Government, is the national drive for people to think local first and prioritise supporting enterprises of every kind in their communities.

Scotland’s Towns Partnership interim chief officer Kimberley Guthrie said: “We’re delighted to be working with McGill’s Group. We recognise that Scotland Loves Local is a campaign that cuts across all sectors and makes a difference to communities, citizens and businesses alike.

"Bringing McGill's on board highlights the importance of allowing people to move about local places easily and cheaply using public transport, leaving the car and thereby reducing carbon emissions. With the work that McGill’s is putting into electrifying their fleet, I think this partnership will help drive greater footfall in our town centres and help us move toward net zero.”