Greenock-based McGill’s Buses, owned by Sandy and James Easdale, has appointed a new group managing director following a significant expansion of its bus operations.

Alex Hornby joins ICC Member, McGill’s after eight years at the helm of French-owned Transdev Blazefield, which operates local and regional bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire, and West Yorkshire.

Mr Hornby (pictured), 41, will report to the group board including McGill’s owners and its chief executive, Ralph Roberts.

“I am hugely excited at the opportunity to manage a class-leading, successful, and ambitious organisation, now the biggest independently owned bus company in the UK, Scotland’s Public Transport Operator of the Year, and one of the largest operators of zero-emission electric fleets in the country,” Mr. Hornby said.

“The future for our industry is bright if – across both the operator sector and in government – we all grasp the right opportunities and align ourselves to zero carbon, economic growth, and congestion-busting agendas that the bus can help to realise.”

McGill’s – which posted a pre-tax loss of £63,500 on turnover of £51 million during the period to January 2, 2022 – has grown substantially during the past two years with the purchase of Xplore Dundee from National Express in 2021.

That was followed by last year’s acquisition of First Scotland East, including the Bright Bus open-top tour operation in Edinburgh.

The company is also growing its strategic partnership with long-distance coach operator FlixBus as its network of intercity routes expands across Scotland and the UK.

“Alex’s drive and passion will significantly strengthen the McGill’s Group leadership team and ensure that we continue to develop the current business as I focus on our exciting growth plans,” Mr. Roberts said. “We continue to hire quality people and we look forward to working with Alex.”

Chairman James Easdale said: “We have emerged as a front-runner in zero-emission transport, with investment totalling £55m since the end of 2021, placing us in the UK’s top three companies for fleet decarbonisation. Earlier this year, we introduced a further £20m investment in 41 new electric buses.”

Directors at McGill’s have been long-standing critics of the government and political “fascination with the train”, a point underlined again today by Sandy Easdale.

“We are doing our part to get people out of their cars and back on the buses but we need the government to play their part and get a realistic perspective regarding subsidies,” he said. “The obsession with trains is madness.

“We are pouring serious investment into substantial infrastructure upgrades at four of our depots to support charging and maintenance of our electric fleet, while a training programme is underway to support vehicle technicians as they maintain the next generation buses.”

McGill’s Buses