Councillors tell firm their drive to ‘slash’ bus services is wrong

FOUR West Fife Labour councillors have written to Stagecoach demanding that the company halts their plans to “slash” bus services.

Graeme Downie (West Fife & Coastal Villages), Cara Hilton (Dunfermline South), Gordon Pryde (Dunfermline North) and Andrew Verrecchia (Rosyth) have instead urged chief executive Martin Griffiths to invest in the network to help people during the cost-of-living crisis.

The four said that, since Stagecoach outlined their proposals last week, they’ve been inundated by calls, emails and social media messages from constituents who are complaining about the suggested timetable alterations.

Their letter to the bus chief said: “The changes being proposed will significantly add to financial pressures people are facing and make it harder for them to maintain or access jobs and educational opportunities.

“Effective public transport is always an essential part of a successful economy but even more so at a time of sky-rocketing petrol prices and with the costs of energy, food and essentials increasing sharply.

“As a result, more and more people will need to rely on your bus services in West Fife and to slash them in the way you are planning will add another concern to people and families throughout the area.”

The proposals have been driven by changing habits – fewer people are using some buses which means Stagecoach is wrestling with reduced income and increasing costs.

However, the councillors said it would affect parents collecting children from school or childcare; make it harder for shift workers, such as nurses and refuse workers, to get to and from work and for people to access health services; and add extra time to what can already be a two-hour journey to travel a few miles between villages.

They added that the changes would push people to use the car more, leading to an increase in carbon emissions, and said the proposals were “confusing” and explained poorly.

The councillors raised specific examples: “A person who finishes work in Edinburgh at 5pm will be unable to get home to Saline until 8pm unless he pays for a taxi, which he can’t afford.

“A disabled woman in Abbeyview who will likely have to give up the job she loves as there will now be no bus serving her street and she is unable to walk the length of Aberdour Road or through Abbeyview to get the proposed alternative service.

“And Fife Council staff will be unable to travel by bus from Dunfermline to Bankhead because two early buses from the city to Glenrothes have been cancelled.”

The bus company stressed that these were proposals and nothing had been decided.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach East Scotland said: “All of the changes proposed for October are currently under consultation.

“We encourage feedback to be submitted via our website and we’re also still in active discussion with local authorities.

“The Scottish Government’s COVID recovery funding for bus services ends on October 9 and all operators will be similarly impacted by this.

“Travel habits have changed since the pandemic and fewer people are now using some bus services, while the cost of operating is rising sharply.

“We will always try to keep routes operational where we can, however, where there are very low passenger numbers, it is sometimes just not possible to do so.

“We have designed a new core network for East Scotland to provide a sustainable bus network now, so that we can grow services over the long term.

“Buses remain fundamental to daily life in Scotland. Looking ahead, they are also critical to helping achieve a green economic recovery, tackling climate change, ensuring cleaner air and supporting connected communities.”

To see the proposed service changes, which would be effective from October 31, visit https://bit. ly/3RbfO0W