Almost two and a half years on from a dramatic blaze on a school bus which saw pupils evacuated on to the side of the road, parents and staff have blasted the new service on the route.
The M4 bus route connects pupils from Aberfoyle, Gartmore and other surrounding villages with McLaren High in Callander.
But it has been plagued with issues stretching back before the fire back in June 2022, when a double-decker provided by then operators Carrs Loch Lomond burst into flames in front of stunned onlookers near Port of Menteith.
The aftermath saw a change in the bus company in charge of running the route on behalf of Stirling Council, with McGill’s now running the buses through their Midland Bluebird network.
However, issues have continued to persist with reliability and lateness on the network and anger at the council for not taking on board criticism levelled at the bus operators.
Parent Rosie Brown, whose son Arlo was in S1 and on the bus which went on fire in 2022 and travels on the M4 every school day, believes the service being provided is “unacceptable” and has contributed to extra stress for pupils reliant upon it.
Earlier this week – in a video which can be seen at the top of the page – she was sent a video by Arlo looking out of the bus window as smoke pours out from underneath the vehicle.
Rosie said: “The bus is plagued with breakdowns, failures to turn up, and occasionally simply doesn’t bother to complete the route as scheduled.
“Outside of severe adverse weather this is obviously unacceptable.
“Children in black school uniform are routinely waiting 20-45 minutes on the sides of country roads in winter in the dark.
“For the kids on the bus which went on fire, it is quite traumatic to them and they have nightmares when there are breakdowns, so this has got the parents quite alert to their concerns.
“It doesn’t seem as if the council are doing much to make the operator accountable and vulnerable kids are being endangered because of it.”
The issues raised by parents have now been echoed by McLaren High head teacher, Marc Fleming, who wrote to council officials looking for answers amid concerns over the impact of late buses ahead of pupils’ exam schedules.
In response, a Stirling Council spokesman said: “We regularly carry out checks to ensure the safety of contracted school transport vehicles.
“This is underpinned by a process where schools can report issues, including breakdowns or delays, to our transport team where required.
“We are aware of recent issues that have been raised regarding transport provision on this route.We will fully investigate wherever a provider fails to meet necessary contracted requirements and agree actions with them for improved service.”
A Midland Bluebird spokesman said: “We are disappointed to hear concerns regarding the M4 school service and take these matters very seriously.
“As a company, we have made significant investments to enhance service quality, including introducing a dedicated school-only bus fleet for this route.
“These vehicles experience lighter usage, and our drivers are specifically trained and fully certified to handle school transport contracts.
“Our priority is to provide a service that pupils, parents, and teachers have confidence in. We remain committed to listening to feedback and working closely with all stakeholders to ensure a high standard of service.”
See the video on our Facebook page.