INFLATION-BUSTING fares hikes of over 10 per cent will be introduced within days on some of Scotland's busiest bus routes.

First Glasgow's new prices come into affect on Sunday and will see weekly tickets costing £15.50 soar to £17, around 10.3 per cent and almost five times the current rate of inflation.

A weekly tariff for those using services just outside city will go up from £20 to £21.50, up 7.5 per cent.

Glasgow has the lowest car ownership rates in Scotland, with some of the highest statistics on reliability on public transport.

First, which does not provide customers with change if they do not have exact fares, said it was encouraging more people to use its mobile tickets app, which it said had been "proven to speed up boarding and journey times".

Fares bought online via First's 'mobile mTicket prices remaqin frozen'.

Interim managing director Justin Davies said: “This fares package will mean some increases in fares but we’ve tried to minimise these while still maintaining significant levels of investment in services.

"In the past four years, we’ve invested more than £50m in 300 new vehicles for the network and more than £20m in a new depot near the city centre.” 

The hike comes as an official watchdog publishes a report blaming congestion and road works for a slump in satisfaction rates for bus punctuality.

Transport Focus said the despite an overall satisfaction rating of 90 per cent amongst the 9000 passengers questioned, one in five are unhappy with poor time keeping.

The body which represents bus operators said congestion was having "an increasingly damaging impact" on passenger views of their services.

Scottish bus passengers are among the most satisfied in Britain according to recent research carried out by independent consumer

The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) said the report showed Scots bus passengers were among the most satisfied in Britain and recorded the highest approval ratings for punctuality and journey time across the UK.

Respondents to the survey said there had been a marked increase in the number of journeys impacted by congestion and roadworks, jumping from 26 per cent in 2014 to 34 per cent in 2016.

Dissatisfaction was at its highest in north-east Scotland at 30 per cent, a nine point increase.

Satisfaction with value for money stood at 68 per cent across Scotland, with passengers in the south east of the country most content with the overall offering, which also includes journey time and punctuality.

Transport Focus said: "We hope the passenger experience from the survey will assist bus companies and policy makers in driving forward improvements for bus users."

CPT said journey times were rising by an average of nearly one per cent a year in urban areas, claiming traffic had increased by a fifth on the M90 in Fife, while peak hour congestion in Aberdeen was now worse than in London

It also said average speeds on Great Western Road in Glasgow at peak times were now below 13mph while on the A1 to Edinburgh they were now 25mph.

A spokesman called for improvements such as separating buses from other traffic and giving buses priority, adding: "Congestion is having an increasingly damaging impact on passenger satisfaction and undermining the attractiveness of bus travel.

"Buses are vital to the health of local economies - more people commute by bus than all other forms of public transport combined.

"Those bus commuters generate £64 billion in GDP across the UK.

"Slow buses and other road vehicles held up in congestion also cause pollution, which is reducing air quality and damaging public health.

"A 10 per cent reduction in bus journey times across the UK would mean 50,000 more people in work. Bus priority measures can typically generate £3.32 of wider social benefits for every £1 invested in them."

CPT Scotland Director George Mair said: “Failure to recognise and tackle congestion is making it increasingly difficult for operators to deliver punctual and reliable services.

"Scotland’s cities are literally choking – choking from the growing numbers of cars, while people are choking as air pollution from traffic worsens.

"Transport Focus’ latest survey results indicate that Scotland’s bus industry is working hard to deliver reliable, green, affordable bus services, but without help from local and national government these efforts will continue to be constrained by the private car.”