Brakes applied to bus consultation
Calls for extension quashed by Stagecoach
Stagecoach have rejected calls to extend last week’s public consultation on the future of bus services in Perth.
Cllr Willie Wilson called for last week’s consultation to be extended, to allow more people in the Fair City to have their say. The consultation, which includes a shake-up of bus times and routes, ran for a week and ended last Friday.
The suggestion has since been quashed by bosses at the bus operator.
Speaking at the end of last week, the Perth City South councillor said: “I will be calling on Stagecoach to extend the period of consultation on the proposals. Many members of the travelling public only became aware of these proposals through local newspaper and Facebook publicity over the last 48 hours [of the consultation].
“The changes proposed for a number of routes are radical and we really need to allow time for the Cllr Wilson called for the consultation to be extended
information to be digested by the public before we can expect them to react. I think at least one more week of consultation should take place.”
He continued: “The proposal to merge the number seven service with the park and ride service is perhaps the most controversial.
Whilst increased frequency and improved journeys in the evening and on Sundays are to be welcomed, the extended journey times involved in Stagecoach’s proposals and virtually chopping off most services to a huge area in Cherrybank are causing major concerns.
“The Oakbank Crescent/ Oakbank Road/Cleeve area will go from the current 12-15 minutes service during the day to one bus an hour - this is unacceptable. Other parts of the proposals involving discontinuing the number 12 and 13 services are also controversial. There needs to be greater clarity on what those proposals actually are.”
However, Stagecoach have rejected the Lib Dem councillor’s calls, saying extending the consultation period does not change the fact the company needs to make changes.
Douglas Robertson, commercial director of Stagecoach for Scotland East, said: “Our proposals are designed to improve the longerterm sustainability of the bus network and recognise the financial pressures on both bus operators and also on local authorities.
“We recognise that change to services are disruptive to our customers, but extending the consultation further will not avoid that changes are necessary in the current economic climate.”