Plan unveiled for £25m Glasgow bus depot
The brownfield site on Kilbirnie Street could be transformed into a bus depot
- Published
Bus operator McGill's has unveiled plans for a £25m depot near Glasgow city centre.
The firm - the UK's largest independent bus company - says the proposal for the Tradeston area could create up to 850 jobs.
The Greenock firm, owned by the billionaire Easdale brothers, aims to expand its bus fleet to about 300 vehicles, while the depot would serve as a "hub to drive McGill's continued expansion".
McGill's said the plan would help ensure regeneration continued in the Tradeston area.
This week the company acquired a 6.55 acre brownfield site on Kilbirnie Street
McGills said the location provided "excellent transport connectivity" as it looks to expand across Scotland.
Ralph Roberts, the chairman of McGill's Group, said: "This is a strategic purchase that fits squarely within McGill's three-year plan.
"In little over five years, we have added operations in Dundee, Stirling, Falkirk, Edinburgh, Livingston, Aberdeen, Inverness and now Glasgow."
Sandy Easdale, Ralph Roberts and James Easdale have high hopes for the Tradeston site
The company added that the depot could become "strategically important" should bus franchising be introduced in the Strathclyde region.
This would see fares, routes and ticketing would controlled by a local public body such as Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT).
Last year recommendations to introduce bus franchising were approved, but SPT said the idea could take several years to set up.
McGill's said the new depot would not affect operations at any of its current sites.
James Easdale, co-owner of McGill's Group, said the plans would keep McGill's at the forefront of the sector.
He said: "This Glasgow depot is another major step forward in our mission to transform transport across Scotland - and with further acquisitions and expansion opportunities in the pipeline, there is much more to come."
His brother Sandy, with whom James established the firm in 2001, said Tradeston was the ideal location for the depot.
He added: "This project is not only about our own growth – it's about creating up to 850 jobs and driving further regeneration in this part of the city."