New bid to boost bus service

A fresh attempt at designing an affordable bus service which satisfies the needs of the Shetland public is being made after two years of work on the issue failed to deliver a solution.

Councillors have held a private meeting to agree measures to be carried out using external consultants from passenger transport specialist TAS Partnership.

The decision means that new, five-year bus contracts scheduled to in March next year might not be signed until as late as August 2014.

Chairman of Shetland transport partnership ZetTrans, Allan Wishart, said it was more important to “get this right rather than rushed”.

It is 12 months since ZetTrans started consulting islanders about the kind of bus service they wanted. When the redesigned bus network

“We are very conscious of the impact rash decisions”

was put out to tender earlier this year, the estimates came in about £ 1million more than what the council and ZetTrans could afford.

Now the public agencies want to speak to the 40 different bus operators in Shetland to find out why they need to charge so much.

At the same time they will examine alternative models, including a council- run network similar to the inter-island ferry service.

With thousands of workers requiring transport from their digs to the Total and BP sites at Sullom Voe, there is a shortage of drivers to do the regular bus runs.

Mr Wishart said: “We are very conscious of the detrimental impact rash decisions could have on thecommunity andI am pleased the council is taking a harder look at all these things – because we have to get it right.”