Highland Council has signalled a possible move into operating its own public bus services. Having operated a fleet of over 50 minibuses on in-house school transport work in recent years, it expanded its fleet in October with the arrival of six new MCV EvoRa-bodied Volvo B8RLEs. Six more buses are expected by the end of the year.
These 12 will be used initially on a pilot project beginning in January, to increase the council’s own school transport provision in rural Inverness, the Black Isle, Loch Ness-side and Nairn. We understand that a decision has also been taken for the council to trial delivering some bus services itself. Its economy and infrastructure committee chairman, Ken Gowans, says:
