Rural bus upgrade
Complaints led to work
Work to improve a vital rural bus service will be overseen by Stirling Council in the coming weeks.
Members of the environment and housing committee have approved plans to monitor upgrades to First Midland Bluebird’s C48 service after a public petition raised a string of concerns.
The petition first came before the council committee in February and described the C48 as a service that provides essential transport through Kinbuck, Dunblane, Stirling and Bannockburn, but also had a number of issues.
The document highlighted problems with the service timetable and reliability, driver attitude and knowledge, ticket machines and the general poor condition of the vehicle.
At last week’s committee meeting, members discussed the need to take immediate action to improve the C48’s operating procedures and agreed to track its progress in the coming weeks.
The committee was informed that a replacement bus and ticket machine is already in place and a new timetable is with the Traffic Commissioner with approval scheduled for April 30.
One driver has been removed from the service while staff are also now undergoing training in customer services.
Bi-weekly meetings have been arranged between First Midland and council officers to ensure ongoing contract management.
Committee convenor Jim Thomson said: “I am pleased to hear the council’s response to these public concerns has been swift and direct.
“This is a financiallybacked service for us and it is crucial for connectivity between some of our rural communities and the centre of Stirling, as well as local services such as schools and shops in Kinbuck.
“It is important that the council not only listens to the concerns of the public regarding issues like these but responds to them quickly and I believe we’ve done that here.
“We will now monitor the service going forward through our council officers and will review the situation’s progress when we get feedback at the next meeting of the committee.”
Councillor Thomson’s motion to leave the petition open for feedback and progress reports was agreed and the service improvements will be reviewed at the next meeting of the committee on June 7.
Stirling MP Stephen Kerr wrote to the company after receiving complaints from constituents about the reliability and quality of the C48 service.
David Phillips, operations director for First Scotland East said: “We have worked positively with the council’s transport department to make a number of positive changes that we are confident will produce noticeable improvements with regards to the provision of this service in response to customer feedback.
“We will continue to monitor all aspects of the service to ensure we meet the expectations of our customers and provide a service they deserve. We will continue to work closely with Stirling Council on this financially supported route going forward.”
Dunblane and Bridge of Allan Tory councillor Alastair Majury welcomed the progress made but called for better timetabling to make connections with popular train departures.