The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Plea for better bus services to connect rural communities
Improving rural bus services for Aberdeenshire communities in Deeside and Donside is “more important now than ever” in the cost-of-living crisis, an MP has argued.
The quality of public transport services available for villages like Aboyne, Torphins, Tarland and Alford has left many residents struggling in recent years.
And with tightening purse strings pushing many rural residents further away from home for jobs, Tory MP Andrew Bowie says proper connections between communities is growing increasingly vital.
He has written to both Stagecoach and Aberdeenshire Council, asking both organisations to do all they can to help ensure current bus services along Deeside and Donside are protected, and those which have been lost over the years are reintroduced.
In his letters to Stagecoach and the council, Mr Bowie highlighted how much people living in our country’s rural areas depend on local bus services to get about.
He said: “The cost-ofliving crisis has made travelling further afield essential for many individuals in search of employment opportunities.
“However, the current state of bus services in rural areas makes this increasingly difficult, and I am concerned about the impact this will have on the local community, and on individuals who require work.
“I strongly believe that connecting rural settlements is more important now than ever, and I ask that serious consideration be given to reintroducing the rural services that have been lost in recent years.”
The West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP said he recognises that Aberdeeenshire Council’s budgets are “tight”, and there are “huge challenges in financing subsidies” for bus services.
He added: “Likewise, I appreciate that without a subsidised service, Stagecoach find it difficult to maintain many of the rural services due to low usage.
“However, I am confident that with proper co-operation between Stagecoach and Aberdeenshire Council, we can find a solution that works for everyone.”
Stagecoach Bluebird’s managing director, David Frenz, said his company cares about local communities and appreciates the “challenges people face in rural areas, including on Deeside and Donside”.
He said residents of these regions are “more isolated, and more sparsely populated communities face challenges in accessing the things many in larger towns and cities take for granted”.
But without help from the public purse, Mr Frenz argued his business can’t afford to put on services for many countryside routes due to how few people there are using them.
He said: “The low passenger volumes on many rural services means that these routes are frequently unviable without public investment.
“Some of our 201 services are able to divert off the A93 to serve some of these communities.
“However, funding for supported bus services provided by Aberdeenshire Council is not unlimited, and this inevitably impacts the connections than we can feasibly provide.”
The director said work is continuing to improve bus journey times along the A93 corridor through Deeside, as well as other areas of Aberdeenshire.
He added: “Keeping these communities connected is a shared responsibility between national and local government, and transport operators.
“The aim of us all is to try to ensure services are as comprehensive and sustainable as possible.”
A spokesman for the local authority said it has worked in partnership with bus operators like Stagecoach, the regional transport body Nestrans and Aberdeenshire Council over the years to “try and maintain and improve bus services” in the region.
But it said in rural areas like much of Deeside and Donside, “the level of service will be directly linked to decisions at all levels of government on funding priorities”.
The spokesman added: “As a council, we are fully aware of the importance of service delivery and engagement with local communities, and how those decisions impact on them.”