Bus cuts will lead to “chaos” claims Crieff commuter

Nov 4 2011 by Greg Christison, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

AXING a bus service connecting west Perthshire and a major Fair City employer will cause “chaos”, a Crieff-based commuter claimed yesterday.

From next Friday (November 11), the service 49 linking Crieff, Methven and Perth’s western edge to premises operated by insurance giants Aviva will cease due to “poor” usage.

Instead, commuters will be forced to undertake a trip on Stagecoach’s service 15, which runs from Crieff to Perth, before boarding either the number seven, eight or nine to the firm’s Pitheavlis premises.

However, unhappy Aviva staff have been left further frustrated after the bus operator revealed number 15 will also reduce its frequency from four services before 9am to a mere two.

One peeved Crieff-based employee voiced his concerns yesterday.

He told the PA: “They say that the Aviva service is not well used but I tend to disagree.

“The buses from Crieff into Perth are often filled with college students and commuters. The whole of western Perthshire often are trying to get on the one bus.

“Now we will be faced with a stressful journey and the daunting experience of trying to make it into Perth to meet our connecting bus.

“I can see chaos and a lot of problems.”

Leaving Crieff’s High Street at 7.10am and 7.55am, the number 15 bus will drop-off passengers at Perth’s South Methven Street at 7.52am or 8.25am, respectively.

A number eight or nine will then pick-up employees from Mill Street at 8.35am and 9.05am and ferry them to Aviva.

Alternatively, service seven will provide a service to Glasgow Road at 8.35am and 8.45am.

A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said Aviva, PKC and Stagecoach Perth had jointly provided services to Pitheavlis since August 2009.

“This involves a significant financial investment in some of the routes that cannot be provided commercially,” she declared.

“Each year we assess the network of services, including feedback from Aviva staff. This has resulted in some changes to routes and timetables to encourage extra usage.

“However, despite timetable and route changes in October 2010, Service 49 continues to be poorly used.

“After considering the subsidy involved in retaining the service, which operates from Crieff to Perth via Methven, Aviva, Stagecoach Perth and the council have jointly agreed that the service should be withdrawn after November 11.

“Service 49 passengers will have other public transport options to travel to / from Aviva, such as using a combination of Service 15 with Service 7 or Service 8.

“Stagecoach Perth have agreed to provide a through ticket facility – so there will be no additional costs involved for bus users choosing alternative arrangements.”

A spokeswoman for Stagecoach in Perth and Aviva said: “Service 15 will be subject to a revised timetable from 14th November 2012, maintaining the basic hourly frequency but with some timing adjustments to offer better connections with the Crieff to Stirling service 47.”