Councillor wants‘poor’ bus service to be put back out to contract

Concerns have been raised about the reliability of a crucial Stirling area bus service, with one councillor even saying it should be put back out to contract.

A meeting of Dunblane Community Council was last week told of numerous failings of the First-operated C48 service which is subsidised by Stirling Council.

The service takes in Kinbuck, Dunblane, Bridge of Allan, Cornton and Stirling before finishing in Bannockburn.

However concerns were raised about poor timekeeping and buses running late, scheduled services not showing up at all, broken ticket machines and even the poor attitude of drivers.

Rob Plewes, a team leader with the Stirling Council transport team, and Brian Peat from First Bus were on-hand to hear about and respond to the issues.

Mr Plewes said that he was aware of the frustrations of those unhappy at late buses, but said the bus is having to travel through five trafficlight changes in Stirling which can impact upon the time.

He added that they were working hard to “get the reliability up to where it should be”.

Dunblane and Bridge of Allan councillor Graham Houston responded: “The issues are not just about timekeeping. Around a week ago the first bus due to arrive in Kinbuck on the Saturday morning didn’t even show up.

“There have been concerns about the quality of the drivers and the quality of their attitude, while people have said that the ticket machines on-board have been broken.

He added: “First won this on price but I’m pushing the council to put this back out to contract. It’s since they started that the problems began.”

David Prescott of Dunblane Community Council added: “I know of a person in Kinbuck who said that if this service didn’t to exist they wouldn’t be able to live there anymore.”

Councillor Houston explained that he was in touch with the community in Kinbuck and he has reassured them that there is no intention of stopping the service.

Brian Peat from First said: “We’re trying to source better buses. We’ve already put better vehicles on the C30 to Riverside. We’re aware that there are issues and we will work on them.”

And a spokesperson from First Bus confirmed that they were investigating complaints made about driver conduct.

They said: “First Midland Bluebird apologises for the inconvenience experienced by some customers recently.

“The C48 service has had some reliability issues due to current local roadworks but we are working very closely with Stirling Council to minimise the impact of these. We have also allocated smaller vehicles to the route and these are better able to navigate narrower roads, particularly in the Kinbuck area.

“We have a record of one instance where a ticket machine was faulty and all customers were able to travel for free on this occasion.

“First Midland Bluebird takes complaints about driver conduct very seriously. These complaints are being investigated and appropriate action will be taken as required.”

The Observer reported in July of this year that First had taken on the bus contract for the C48.

A spokesperson from Stirling Council said: “We have contractual standards which bus operators are required to comply with on council subsidised services and we would take any complaints seriously.

“We have been assured by the operator that significant investment by their engineering team in existing buses and new smaller vehicles will improve reliability on this route.

“The conclusion of road works in the area will also help ensure buses arrive on time.”