Stagecoach services in Perthshire will die a “death of a thousand cuts” if a proposed shakeup of bus routes is implemented, campaigners have warned.
The bus company is consulting on plans to make cuts to more than a dozen services, including routes in Carse of Gowrie, Crieff, Scone and Perth.
Politicians have criticised the proposals with many questioning the timing of the consultation over the Christmas holiday period.
The changes will effect more than a dozen services and are due to be implemented on February 24.
One of the most contentious proposals is a reduction in frequency of the number 7 service, which connects Oakbank and Scone with the city centre.
Some journeys in the Scone area will cease altogether if the shakeup goes ahead, with the 57 service being diverted to fill these gaps.
Stagecoach said there had been a 2.3% drop in passengers and the service will no longer call at the Perth park and ride site early in the mornings and late at night.
Passengers will no longer be able to travel from Scone to Broxden without a connection in the city centre, should the plans go through.
The number 7 route was spilt recently to create 7A and 7B services, each covering part of the distance. Under the new proposals it will return to a single journey.
Stagecoach said the planned changes were due to range of factors, including decline in use and a reduction in the subsidy it receives from outside agency.
Carse of Gowrie Labour councillor Alasdair Bailey has raised concerns about the proposed gaps in buses from the area to Perth city centre at the peak morning and after-work travel times.
Mr Bailey said: “Someone wanting to travel from St Madoes to Perth will now have only the 7.59am then nothing until 9.46am which is going to be too late for many workers.
“I worry that the services through the Carse will die a ‘death of a thousand cuts’; the more they are reduced, the lower the passenger numbers will be and then an argument gets created for more cuts.
“Also… it’s wholly unreasonable to ask people to sift through complex timetable changes to see if their bus is affected during the two weeks of Christmas.”
Roseanna Cunningham, SNP MSP for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, said the continuous “chopping and changing” of services by Stagecoach was affecting passenger numbers.
Ms Cunningham said: “The withdrawal of services 14/14A to Almondbank and Pitcairngreen and service 15 to St Fillan’s would have a significant and detrimental effect on my constituents in these areas, whilst the suggestion that the service on the number 15 between Crieff and Perth be changed back to an hourly service is a retrograde step.
“The move to a half hourly service on that route is only relatively recent, it was very welcome when it was brought in, and I do not believe it has been given a long enough period in which to become established.”
She said she had also spoken to Stagecoach about the timing of the consultation.
“Having a consultation of this nature over the holiday period is hardly conducive to encouraging customer engagement and I urged them to both extend the deadline and delay the introduction of any new timetable,” she said.
Perth city centre Liberal Democrat councillor Willie Wilson previously raised concerns about a number of changes to Stagecoach routes including the reduction in frequency of the number 7 service, which connects Oakbank and Scone with the city centre.
Douglas Robertson, managing director of Stagecoach East Scotland said the company continually reviewed its network to identify customer demand.
He said: “The decline in retail within the local economy has had a direct impact on passenger usage in many towns outside the big cities.”
