A Carse of Gowrie bus service withdrawn last spring amid criticism has been reinstated.
Stagecoach East had replaced service 16 in May last year with an extended service 39 to provide an hourly link between Ninewells Hospital and Perth Royal Infirmary, with journeys to Errol and Glendoick up to every two hours.
The bus operator announced last week that service 16 is to be reinstated to replace service 39 from late March 2025.
The Glendoick area nevertheless remains “stranded” according Conservative Carse of Gowrie councillor Angus Forbes.
Initial proposals put forward early 2024 involved complete withdrawal of service 16 due to “significantly reduced passenger numbers post-pandemic”.
Following consultations the revised timetable included the extended service 39. This however had been described by Carse of Gowrie Labour councillor Alasdair Bailey as “a skeleton service” which left “an awful lot to be desired”.
He said this week: “Whilst the community and I welcome the reintroduction of the service, we have to ask the question of how sustainable it is. History is repeating itself here because Stagecoach similarly found that running a 40-mile local bus service from Arbroath to Perth was impossible in 2017 and reintroduced the Dundee-Perth local 16 at that time.
“The residents of the Carse of Gowrie that I talk to are really happy to have the bus back, but are left wondering how we can ensure it stays with us.”
Fellow Carse councillor Angus Forbes said: “Where there are winners, there are always losers and Glendoick is the area that I am most concerned about, this will be left pretty much stranded and despite my efforts Stagecoach would not budge on that.
“To keep the journey time within the limits and assuming some roadworks someplace on the route, they say that Glendoick is not viable.
“The council’s transport team will be speaking to other operators to see if they would be willing to include Glendoick within their schedule.”
Perth and Kinross-shire MP Pete Wishart said: “It is my hope that its reintroduction will provide some much-needed peace of mind to local communities, and that this will serve as a reminder on the importance of maintaining sufficient rural bus services.”
Perthshire North MSP and First Minister John Swinney said: “At public meetings hosted by Pete Wishart and I, local residents spoke passionately about the importance of this route. Their stories highlighted just how essential this bus service is for connecting people to work, education, healthcare and loved ones.
“Following these meetings, Pete Wishart and I were able to harness these very powerful testimonies and put them directly to Stagecoach management.
“This decision by Stagecoach shows the power of local activism. The collective voices of those who attended our meetings and made their concerns known have clearly been heard, and I am pleased that Stagecoach have taken this overwhelming feedback on board and listened to the arguments advanced by myself and Pete Wishart.”
Stagecoach East Scotland managing director Douglas Robertson said: “Our proposals to adjust the service provision in the Carse, Dundee and Angus are largely in response to the community and staff feedback we have received since the timetable changes of May 13, 2024, in these areas and from our own service monitoring and driver feedback.”