By Dave Lord

A CASH injection of almost £1 million by one of the largest bus operators in the UK is set to see key Perth services running every five minutes—following the drama-tic success of a scheme in New Zealand.

Trial initiatives in Perth by transport giant Stagecoach led to a 70% increase in bus use, and company founder Brian Souter insists a permanent Fair City scheme can sustain such staggering success.

His company is working in partnership with the Scottish Executive and Perth and Kinross Council on the KickStart scheme.

The three organisations have jointly committed £820,000 to the campaign which aims to be completely self-financing within three years.

The cash has been used to purchase 11 easy access low floor buses.

Key routes between North Muirton and Perth city will benefit from the more frequent buses, which will be identified with Muirton On The Move branding.

Vehicles will also have the latest “green” environmentally-friendly engines along with CCTV to give increased security for passengers.

The innovative Stagecoach scheme originated in New Zealand and has already proved successful elsewhere in the UK.

Brian Souter was yesterday delighted to launch the project.

“This is a successful initiative which will undoubtedly make a big difference to passengers in the North Muirton and Muirton areas of Perth,” he said.

“Our partnership with the Scottish Executive and Perth and Kinross Council has enabled us to introduce these improvements much quicker than we would have been able to do independently.

“Furthermore, it demonstrates the joint commitment by all parties involved to making public transport an easy and pleasant alternative to the car.”

The improved Stagecoach service will operate to a revised timetable as of next Monday and increase the frequency on routes five, six, nine and 10.

This means a combined frequency of up to every five minutes between North Muirton and the city centre will operate Monday to Saturday during the day.

The services will also retain their frequency of up to four per hour to Moncreiffe, Craigie, Burghmuir and the Western Edge.

Councillor Alan Livingstone, convener of the local authority’s enterprise and infrastructure committee, said, “We are very pleased to be working in partnership with Stagecoach in Perth on this latest public transport initiative.

“The improvements being introduced should make a real difference to people who use the services and encourage many more residents to consider the advantages of the bus for travelling within the city.

“I am particularly pleased that all the buses are wheelchair accessible,” Mr Livingstone added.

Lisa Henry, marketing manager with Stagecoach east Scotland, added, “This KickStart initiative is an exciting project which benefits from high-profile marketing to promote the services and increase patronage.

“We urge people to look out for the information pack that will be delivered to most houses in Perth city from October 31 onwards.

“It includes a new timetable for all of Perth city’s bus routes along with a helpful city guide, which encompasses route maps and frequency information,” Ms Henry continued.

“We have also included a voucher to redeem a seven day megarider ticket which can be used on any Stagecoach bus within Perth city.”

Public funding helps the KickStart scheme in the early years when passenger numbers are not high enough to make the service commercially sustainable.

By the end of the three-year period it is envisaged that services will be run without the need for ongoing support from the taxpayer.