A crucial bus service connecting Kinross-shire to Stirling has been axed, with another one to the capital halved.
The Stirling service will be temporarily suspended from January, unless more drives can be found.
Another between Perth and Edinburgh – via Kinross – has had its frequency halved to once every two hours.
Both routes have been deemed vital to students and commuters but transport bosses say their hands have been forced by national driver shortages connected to coronavirus and Brexit.
Which services will be cut?
The First Bus X53, which links Kinross, Crook of Devon and Rumbling Bridge to Stirling has been temporarily suspended.
The service was only launched 18 months ago but bosses confirmed it will be axed on January 9, if more drivers cannot be found.
They said it may be saved if the situation improves before then.
Stagecoach’s X56, which runs between Perth and Edinburgh, through Kinross, has had its frequency halved to once every two hours.
The change to the Edinburgh service came into effect on Monday, November 1 and will remain until further notice.
‘Terrible to lose this service’
Kinross-shire councillor Willie Robertson said the decision to axe the Stirling service is a blow to Kinross and the surrounding villages.
“It is a very well used bus, quite a lot people go to university and things using that bus,” he said.
“It will be terrible to lose this service all together. There will be nothing of this kind in Kinross.
“It provides a vital link. A lot of people will be missing out.
“I was quite shocked when I found out the news.”
But this is not the only route affected.
Link to Edinburgh
Mr Robertson said the reduction of buses to the capital is another blow.
“It seems crazy that we are cutting bus services at a time when we should be encouraging the use of public transport,” he added.
“All this when the COP26 climate conference is being held on our doorstep.”
Graeme Macfarlane, commercial director for First Bus in Scotland, said the company is doing “everything is can” to keep services running.
“As is being experienced across the bus industry, we have seen varying levels of driver shortages in some of our operating areas over the last few weeks, similar to other road transport businesses,” he said.
“We are doing everything we can to maintain a comprehensive network of services that supports our customers and our communities.
“The majority of routes are running normally although in some areas we are making temporary timetable adjustments to ensure a reliable service and minimise disruption.
“We thank customers for their patience and understanding while we overcome this short-term situation.”
‘Tried to limit any disruption as much as possible’
He added: “We have entered a 70 day process to temporarily suspend the service until further notice, in order to help address the driver shortage and focus resource where there is current demand and on those services that we are seeing a higher rate of post-Covid passenger recovery on.
“The 70 day process will give us time to try to address the shortages and if driver numbers improve then this is something that we can cancel at any point and we will of course keep passengers informed of any decisions made in this regard well in advance of any changes taking effect.”
National shortage
A Stagecoach East Scotland spokesperson said: “We have tried to limit any disruption as much as possible, however the ongoing national driver shortage that other operators have been facing is now starting to affect us in some areas.
“Whilst we have been able to manage this shortage up to this point, we now need to make some temporary changes to ensure we can provide a reliable service during this time.”
