City’s Park and Ride to stay on road

Stirling’s Park and Ride service will continue to operate after Stirling Council agreed to fund its retention.

The services, which run from Springkerse and Castleview, were under threat after operators Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Enterprise (WAVE) served notice to quit in February, claiming the services were not financially viable.

Along with the C48 service in Dunblane, the council has managed to salvage the routes.

The environment and housing committee heard recently that all three will now continue with adjusted timetables after new contracts were agreed with Hunter’s Executive Coaches Ltd.

Environment Convenor, Councillor Danny Gibson, said: “It’s great news that we’ve found a way to continue providing these services, with the Park and Ride forming a key part of Stirling’s transport strategy in reducing the amount of traffic heading into the city centre and the C48 serving communities in Dunblane, Bridge of Allan, Stirling and Bannockburn who would otherwise have no bus service.”

Council officers looked at a range of options to ensure service provision was maintained and the Springkerse Park and Ride buses will now run every 15 minutes from Monday to Saturday instead of every 12, while Castleview buses will run every 20 or 25 minutes instead of every 15 as at present and will now include two one-hour breaks in service at times of the lowest usage.

The C66/ C67 Dunblane to Doune service which was also operated by WAVE Ltd will be discontinued.

Councillor Gibson said: “Given that we faced the total loss of all of these services just a couple of months ago, though, I think what has been achieved is a good result.

“It’s important to note particularly that though the loss of the C66/ C67 service is regrettable, officers have negotiated a number of changes to the C48 route that will take in some of the areas in Dunblane previously served by the discontinued service.’’

New timetable information for both the Park and Ride services and the C48 are available online at http:// bit.ly/1AICzku