Bus service not up to scratch

Sir, – Rural communities are often accused of over-reliance on cars but we have no option unless we want to put ourselves into the hands of a bus company who could not care less.

Buses are already a rare sight in Bankfoot and on weekdays there’s just one an hour to Perth.

I went to catch the 1.24pm from Bankfoot to Perth last Friday and stood in the freezing cold for 20 minutes before phoning Stagecoach.

I was told the service had been dropped because it was already 25 minutes late getting out of Perth due to roadworks. There was no mention of this on their website.

I asked to make a formal complaint and was told “you just have”. I said I wanted a formal record and response. I was told “you’ve had one” but “I can email the reasons to you”. I left my email address and of course have not received any email.

This is far from good enough. I’d suggest that at the rate of one an hour then it’s key that the bus actually shows up. Disruption in Perth isn’t an acceptable excuse. Plans should have been made to go around it or run a service from Inveralmond. I was 25 minutes late for my meeting and £20 worse off as I had to call a cab.

Stagecoach here are unaccountable and if they don’t record complaints they never will be. This has all the hallmarks of a dominant company, unchallenged by competition, who don’t give a damn. It’s time they were reminded of their key role in relation to remote communities and time people spoke up or rather were listened to.

We hear a lot about on-time statistics for trains; why don’t Perth and Kinross Council track the performance of our sole bus provider? Graham Miller. Cairneyhill Road, Bankfoot.