Stagecoach to pull out of Lochaber at end of June
USING unreliable buses coupled with complaints from passengers is the sorry story of Stagecoach’s services in Lochaber, according to the area’s senior councillor.
The blistering condemnation from Councillor Andrew Baxter, chairman of Highland Council’s Lochaber Area Committee, came just hours after news broke of what many suspected would be the final outcome of the company’s review of its local services with the decision to close its Fort William depot.
Stagecoach will operate its final Lochaber area services from Fort William on June 30. However, Scottish Citylink services will be unaffected by the closure.
Stagecoach, which runs eight vehicles and employs 16 staff in Fort William, says it made the decision following a consultation with employees and trade union representatives.
The bus operator said it had considered a range of ways to sustain its Fort William operation, including discussing with Highland Council the option to run part of the current tendered network between Corpach, Caol and Fort William on a commercial basis, but that the local authority had chosen not to pursue this.
‘Given the budgetary pressures on the council, the decision to retain a supported service when a commercial service was being offered is both surprising and disappointing,’ said a company statement this week.
But a furious Mr Baxter slammed this as nothing more than an attempt by Stagecoach to ‘spin’ the blame for the closure away from itself.
‘We all know the underlying cause is they lost several council contracts last year in a fair and transparent tendering process,’ said Mr Baxter.
‘Since then the new operator, Shiel Buses, has demonstrated it can operate a better value service, that residents support, while investing in its fleet.
‘Stagecoach’s response has been to use hand-me-down buses from elsewhere that are extremely unreliable, while ignoring the complaints from passengers. More recently, it has effectively tried to hold a gun to the council’s head, demanding changes to the Corpach-Caol-Fort William service that would have led to a diminished service.
‘They expected councillors to blink and we didn’t. I guess they thought as a private company, receiving huge public subsidies and operating a monopoly in many areas, they could continue calling all the shots.’
Mr Baxter says he is particularly worried the loss of commercial services will leave residents in South Lochaber cut-off and stranded.
‘For many, it’s a lifeline service. That’s why the council’s public transport officers are in talks with alternative providers. They’ve reassured us passengers won’t be left with no service.’
Fellow Lochaber councillor, Allan Henderson, chairman of the council’s environment, development and infrastructure committee, was also dismissive of Stagecoach’s proposals over the Corpach-Caol-Fort William service.
‘To come at this late stage looking for us to alter a contract already legally given out to a competitor was never a deal we could consider,’ he said.
Mark Whitelocks, managing director for Stagecoach North Scotland, said the closure of the depot had been a very difficult decision to make.
‘We will continue to support our staff as we work towards the depot closure on June 30 and will be doing everything we can to assist them in relocating to other parts of our business or into other work wherever possible,’ he said.