Stagecoach will release a statement on Friday regarding their plans for bus routes in Perthshire after a new draft timetable unexpectedly appeared online.
A proposed schedule was published by Angus Council showing a new 39 bus route running between Perth and Dundee six days a week, with Sunday not included in the update.
The plans show a near hourly service between Perth Royal Infirmary and Dundee city centre with stops in Invergowrie and Ninewells Hospital.
Less frequent stops would also be made at Glencarse, St Madoes, Errol, Inchture, Glendoick and Longforgan.
Lack of clarity over new timetable
It remains unclear if the new draft is being put forward as a compromise to combine the X7 and 16 routes.
Both were set to be axed in the bus company’s original proposals put forward earlier this year, plans that would have left the Carse of Gowrie without a commercial bus service.
The proposed route published on the Angus Council website states it would come into effect on May 13 – the same date Stagecoach said they would introduce a new timetable in Perthshire.
The bus company had previously stated they would publish their finalised timetable for the area towards the end of April.
The version appearing on the Angus Council website is still entitled “proposed bus service timetables”.
Council and bus company were in talks
Stagecoach’s original plans to axe and reduce routes across Perthshire had been met with anger and concern by communities across the local authority.
Residents from communities within the Carse of Gowrie feared they would not be able to get to their GP or school in time for their exams, while the chief executive of NHS Tayside said the removal of the X7 would cause parking chaos at hospitals.
Hundreds of people turned out to public meetings to voice their concerns that the removal of services would leave communities cut off and isolated.
Pressure from politicians, residents and The Courier forced the bus company back into talks with Perth and Kinross Council.
It remains unclear whether or not the timetable published by Angus Council is the final outcome of those talks.
Perth and Kinross Council confirmed that the bus company was set to issue a statement tomorrow, April 5, on the matter.
The Courier contacted Stagecoach but did not get a response before publication.
A study by Transport Scotland showed that bus travel increased by 29% across Scotland in 2022 from the previous year.
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