TJ – It does not have to be like this. I use public transport in central Scotland a lot. Its ALWAYS cheaper and quicker than using a car
Don’t be misled by TJ’s central Scotland Utopia. In reality the exact “excuse” in the OP has been used for about two years by Scotrail for cancelling trains, because they don’t have enough staff.
I use public transport almost every working day, and it IS a bit quicker than fighting with Edinburgh traffic; but is no less cost (true cost, peak time tickets etc), and I happen to be 3 mins and 7 min walks at each end. If I was traveling outside peak, the traffic issues disappear and a less frequent train service means I can do it door to door quicker than public transport.
I also travel about once a week 11 miles between two fairly significant towns in the central belt that have plenty of people going between them. It used to take nearly 40 minutes on a dreadful bus which ran less than once every hour (that service no longer runs and you have to change busses – no idea how long now). You can drive in 20 minutes, and go door to door. Admittedly it’s probably about 50p more expensive to drive – assuming I am on my own.
Public transport within and between Glasgow and Edinburgh is fairly good (but well behind standards in many other countries) but that does not extend across the entire central belt.