Drive to keep lifeline bus on road
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A LABOUR MSP took elderly passengers' worries on board when he joined a jam-packed Elgin circular bus on Friday ahead of the service's planned withdrawal on September 7.
David Stewart, Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, whose constituency includes Moray, boarded the 340/341 Duffus Heights bus service as it set off from Elgin Bus Station.
Mr Stewart said imagination was required to find a way to keep the well-used and, for many, vital service on the road.
Regular passengers, who are predominantly older people, described the service as a lifeline to get to the town centre shops, appointments at Dr Gray's Hospital and GP surgeries at Maryhill and Glassgreen. Many praised the service's punctuality and drivers who go "above and beyond" to assist customers – a number of whom use walking aids or have disabilities.
Mr Stewart has warned that axing the service – which he described as "effectively community care on wheels" – could have serious health consequences for the many elderly people who rely on it to get out of the house, attend hospital appointments or get to the shops easily.
The 340/341, operated by Macduff-based Deveron Coaches, has been kept running by a developer commitment from Scotia Homes and Robertson Homes. The agreement is in place until the road linking the Hamilton Gardens development with Covesea is complete. That road will be accessible to traffic by September 7, at which point the service will cease.
Albert Milne, owner of Deveron Coaches, which has operated the service for the past four years, was also there to meet Mr Stewart. He said he would need around £114,000 a year to keep running the bus.
Mr Milne said: "I'd be very glad to keep running it if it made a profit – but it doesn't, not without a subsidy."
Hard-pressed Moray Council says it can no longer financially support bus services due to other budget pressures.
Mr Stewart said after the bus run: "I was never in any doubt about how important this service was. If I was in any doubt that was removed from talking to local passengers today.
"I was frankly overwhelmed with the support – mostly from elderly people who have used it for the last four years. There are quite a number of people with disability problems.
"Also quite a number of the elderly people I spoke to said how important it was just to get out and about and meet other people. So it was effectively community care on wheels.
"I want to be in discussion with the local council and Transport Scotland and others to see what opportunities are available.
"Clearly I understand how cash-pressed the local authorities are – particularly Moray – but that doesn't mean that we should close our eyes to a very important problem.
"The other key point is that we know that low-emitting buses are really important for fighting climate change, rather than putting lots of polluting vehicles in Elgin town centre."
A petition organised by campaigner Sarah Marsh and left on the bus over the past fortnight has gathered around 450 signatures. Mrs Marsh will deliver the petition to the council this week.
Mrs Marsh said: "It's not just a bus service – it's a community service.
"It's regular, the punctuality is amazing, it has a perfect route, and it is the difference between people being able to get out – and not.
"But I don't know what the answer is. I just think it's so important and there's a nice sense of community. Over the years everyone has got to know each other. We all chat and everybody knows the driver. It's quite old-fashioned in a way."
One regular user Harry Roberts (94) said: "I think it would be awful to lose this service. You see, I can't drive a car now and we're stuck there – and the only way we could go places is to get a taxi and they're quite expensive.
"I use the bus more or less every day, usually just down into the town."
Charles and Vera Wyllie use the bus three or four times a week. Mr Wyllie said: "You can rely on this bus. It's very, very good and the drivers are absolutely superb and very understanding to customers' needs."
Another regular user, Patty Ferguson, said: "It's timed to perfection and never lets you down. The drivers are lovely. The other bus services are rubbish."
Mr Stewart pledged to keep pressing for a solution. He said: "There is great community care and climate change reasons why this bus should continue and I'll be doing everything I can and speaking to ministers and others to see what solutions can be brought forward.
"We need to open up our imagination to see what opportunities are available to keep this excellent service and I'll do everything I can to ensure that happens."
