Anger as vital bus service axed again
ANGRY R o b r o y s t o n residents have hit out at further cuts to bus routes in the area. The JMB Travel 19A service which serves the East End on weekday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays has been reduced to a Sunday- only service.
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport ( SPT) stepped in to run the service after the cancellation of the First Bus 19A last year.
This is the latest blow to buses in Robroyston after First Bus’s X2 and 32 services were cancelled last month.
Gerry Knox is among the worried about the move.
He said: “It’s an older community who live here and not many of them drive.
“My health isn’t great. I used to walk. Now, I feel like I’m stuck in the house.”
Andrea Graham, who used the 19A service five days a week in order to get to work, said: “I have to walk through Robroyston Park.
“It’s quite unsafe at the moment with kids letting fireworks off. It’s a lot tougher in the winter.”
Local representatives slammed the cuts. locals have
SNP MSP for Glasgow Provan Ivan McKee said: “These cuts to our vital bus services are having a devastating impact across the communities I represent.
“I have been working to try to establish a sustainable option.”
Labour councillor for Springburn and Robroyston Aileen McKenzie said: “The callousness of First Bus to axe these bus routes leaving the residents of this part of the city with little to no bus service is astounding.
“First Bus must reconsider and I am calling for urgent intervention from the Scottish Government and SPT.
“Glasgow needs to be bold and innovative with public transport and think outside the box on how to create a functioning network.
“A municipally owned public transport system is the way forward.”
A spokeswoman for SPT said: “The revised timetable reflects the current usage. The numbers using this service have been low for some time, and the impact of coronavirus and lockdown measures have made this worse, so maintaining the service is not an option.”
A spokesman for First Bus said: “The removal of any bus services is something we take very seriously.”