A senior Labour councillor has branded Glasgow's bus system inadequate and "a mess", and is now calling for re-regulation.

Glasgow Labour’s chief whip Alistair Watson has raised concerns about the state of the bus provision in the city, and says drastic measures are needed to prevent it from falling into further decline.

He is planning to write to Transport Minister Humza Yousaf this week to express his concerns.

The calls come after changes to bus routes and timetables on First Bus services sparked concern with residents across the city.

In the West End, locals were furious to find out the route for the 4A would be amended, and would not serve a vital section of Kelvindale.

The area previously suffered a bus cut when Stagecoach withdrew their G2 service to the new hospital in February.

Yesterday First Bus and SPT agreed to save the number 49 in Pollok from being scrapped.

However Councillor Watson said it is not practical to petition to save each bus service whenever they are under threat, and has called for powers to be handed to Glasgow to allow the council to control the buses.

He said: “The whole industry is in free fall. Axing bus routes isolates communities.

“We just can’t go on like this. This is a profound signal of market failure and the state should intervene.

“Public money is poured into a market venture that does not adequately serve our communities.

“It isn’t a good use of our taxes, and the results are utterly unsatisfactory. What a waste, what a mess, what a bad way of running a public transport system.

“Glasgow should re-regulate the buses.

“We should work with our communities to ensure that routes match social need as well as market demand, set maximum fare levels and subsidise less viable services from the more profitable ones.

Earlier this year, a survey by the council found bus services were ‘not fit for purpose’, with many locals complaining about the price, frequency and routes.

Humza Yousaf, Minister for Transport and the Islands said: “I welcomed the opportunity to address bus industry stakeholders at the recent CPT Conference where I outlined our plans for a transport bill with a strong focus on the bus sector.

“The Scottish Government is committed to improving bus services, including tackling congestion, and we will be consulting on the bill in the new year.

“We have invested nearly a quarter of a billion pounds every year in support of bus services, concessionary travel and more incentives for the take up of cleaner, greener vehicles.

“The Scottish Government also provides the funding for local authorities to deliver nearly £60m a year to support their local bus services.”