Anger over plan to axe park and ride
Uproar as reality of budget cut hits home to passengers
Council plans to close Springkerse park and ride as part of a package of budget cuts have been met with criticism from those reliant on the service.
The city centre site was among the service cuts announced in the administration budget approved last week, with the aim of plugging a £17million funding black hole in the council finances.
However, the move has prompted an angry response from people who make use of the service including work commuters and those accessing vital services.
The park and ride service offers free parking and bus travel in the city – with a regular service operating between the car park and the bus station.
A petition launched by Bannockburn resident Karen Travers urging councillors to reverse the decision has already attracted almost 450 signatures.
Ms Travers said: “For us as a family, my daughter attends Plus Forth Valley twice a week for groups and neither my husband or I can drive, so we rely on that park and ride to get her there and to pick her up.
“If we don’t have that service, then she will either lose out or we will be forced to use taxis which aren’t cheap.
“Stirling Council are always going on about people using fewer cars but then they are stopping a service which helps with that.
“We just need to get this out there because it is always busy and I’ve never seen it when it isn’t being used, so I’m quite surprised that they have made this decision.
“There are only the two buses and they always have loads of people on them so I’ve no idea where the thinking has come from.”
Another group left frustrated by the plans are the parent/ teacher partnership at St Modan’s High, where several pupils from across the Forth Valley make use of the park and ride as a vital drop-off to get into the city.
Chairperson Clare Malcolm said: “The first thing for us is that there was no consultation on this and the first we heard about it was when someone shared the council budget plans.
“From our perspective as a parents group, not all parents drive and the location of St Modan’s isn’t the easiest to get to.
“We’ve got parents from Denny, Alloa and other parts of Stirling who make use of that bus into Springkerse.
“The school bus doesn’t go to areas like Cornton, Causewayhead and Bridge of Allan, so while kids are entitled to free bus travel they still have to get from Bridge of Allan, for example, into the park and ride.
“There is a real safety concern here as well because this will affect children coming back from afterschool clubs or if someone misses their bus on a Monday morning, we’re expecting a child to walk from Stirling bus station to St Modan’s.
“It feels quite irresponsible from them – I get there are financial pressures at the council but there is no reason why that service can’t continue and I think there is a lack of understanding of the number of people using that bus service.”
Passenger representative Val Brand has also criticised the proposal, telling the Observer: “While appreciating this bus was to encourage drivers not to take their cars into the city, this service is also invaluable to all those without transport across the whole region who rely on it to access shops in the retail park.
“The frequency of this service meant that bus users could easily reach the retail park straight from the bus station and return in time to make their connection home.
“Once again those without transport find their choice of accessible locations severely restricted at time when everyone is being encourage to use public transport.”
Announcing the budget plans last week, council leader Chris Kane said he could “weep” over the budget presented and the cuts coming down the line – admitting the process to make what decisions to make had been “horrendous and absolutely horrible”.
But he rejected criticism from opposition SNP councillors over the budget cuts and said the only difference between the two parties’ plans were when cuts would be made.
There are only two buses and they always have loads of people on them so I’ve no idea where the thinking has come from