Reliable bus services are vital for all
Dear Editor,
Further to the article in the Observer 19/11/21 and Cllr Tollemache’s plea to Stirling Council in the wake of COP26 to seriously look at bus provision across the region and where we also learned of First’s remedy to the driver situation is to cut bus services.
For months passengers across Stirling region have been subjected to repeated short notice cancellations as First failed to provide a proper service.
The normally silent urban passengers are angry and so they should be as they are experiencing the kind of service the western, northern and some eastern villages have had to put up with for years. They are even starting to notice the dire condition of the vehicles they are travelling on.
But contrary to popular belief passengers don’t want to complain they just want a frequent, reliable good quality bus service so that they can get on with their lives.
And yet here we are again, after months of turmoil and stress, the solution appears to be let’s punish passengers further by cutting services. This is a good tactic; it pits community against community fighting to retain their buses.
But this is not the way public transport should be delivered. No one community is more entitled to public transport than another and yet this is what is happening throughout Stirlingshire.
It’s now time for all elected representatives from across the spectrum to work together for the good of the whole region, not just their own constituency.
Stirling needs fully integrated bus services across the region before it’s too late. Please make bus provision a priority at Stirling Council - the climate needs it, the region needs it and we the passengers deserve it. Val Brand, passenger representative
Busletdown Dear Editor,
I am appalled at the 57 bus service in Borestone area being
God help you if you have a doctor’s appointment at Stirling Community hospital. It’s the only bus in the area.