HUGE rises in Glasgow bus fares have been blamed on the Scottish Government failing to pay fuel rebates in line with England.

HUGE rises in Glasgow bus fares have been blamed on the Scottish Government failing to pay fuel rebates in line with England.

Des McNulty, Labour's Scottish transport spokesman, claims the fares increases could have been avoided if the SNP put passengers' interests first.

The city's biggest public transport operator, First Bus, raised some fares this week by up to 25%. The firm blamed an increase in costs, including fuel.

It was able to increase prices after the Competition Commission removed a cap on fares.

Mr McNulty claimed a key factor in the Commission's decision was the Scottish Government's failure to implement increases in the Bus Services Operators' Grant, although they had been paid in England and Wales to offset rises in fuel duty.

Mr McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, added: "Increasing the travel costs for people using public transport to get to and from work flies in the face of policies Labour had put in place to promote the use of public transport on environmental grounds."

A Scottish Government spokesman said support for bus services was around £260million a year.

He added: "Scotland spends 22% more per head on the bus grant than the Westminster Government spends south of the border. This rises to 31% when London is excluded, where the situation is not comparable to Scotland."

First put fares up on Sunday. An adult single has increased from 80p-£2.80 to 85p-£3.10. The child fare range is up from 45p-£1.20 to 55p-£1.35.

A spokeswoman for the bus company said the Competition Commission ruling found First Glasgow "had been prevented from reflecting true industry cost rises over 10 years. In effect it is a catch-up' fare revision."

She said the change in the fuel duty rebate arrangement in Scotland was a "minimal" factor in the change to the fares.