A Stagecoach manager said be believed a much-missed Dunfermline town centre bus service would not go back to its old route, despite widespread condemnation of the changes.
He claimed Fife Council had refused to support changes to a much-needed bus service to fill the gap which would have brought forward its introduction by weeks.
The news brought anger to a packed hall of residents who met to launch a campaign against changes to the number 19 Ballingry to Rosyth service, which has meant a huge swathe of Dunfermline has been cut from its route.
In the initial backlash to the changes to the 19, Stagecoach agreed to alter the D5/D6 service to serve Nethertown Broad Street and New Row, providing a low floor bus every 20 minutes but that will not start until March 21.
Gary Stewart, the operations manager at Stagecoach Dunfermline St Leonard’s Street, told the public meeting in the Dell Farquharson Centre that it could only have come on stream earlier if Fife Council were to write a letter of support to the Scottish Traffic Commissioner.
There is a statutory 56 days period of notice needed for changes, but that can be shortened if the local authority produces such a letter.
“Fife Council refused to give us that letter of support,” he said.
However, Fife Council hit back saying they could not give that as changes to the service would benefit some customers but impact on others.
Lead officer for network planning and information Gary Moyes said, “We welcome the proposal to offer a service to the Nethertown Broad Street and New Row area but, at the same time, Stagecoach are also proposing to remove this service from the bus station.
“As these changes will benefit some passengers but have a negative impact on others, we aren’t able to provide a letter of support to allow an earlier start date for the revised service.
“The row began in the worst of the wintry weather and Christmas traffic when it was decided to re-route the 19 via Dunfermline bus station and St Margaret’s Drive instead of James Street and New Row.Improving reliabilityThe firm said this was made to improve service reliability, which had been affected by traffic in James Street, the entrance to the Kingsgate Centre’s car park. But that left hundreds including scores of pensioners and young mums out in the cold.
In light of public feeling, Fife Labour leader Alex Rowley and local Labour Councillor Willie Sullivan organised yesterday’s meeting.
“What is clear from the attendance is that there is real concern in this area about the services,” Mr Rowley said.
Many spoke of the problems they have had since the 19 was withdrawn from the area gripes included safety while walking longer distances home, having to take connecting buses or pay for costly taxis simply because nothing else was available.
Mr Stewart told the meeting he was not making light of the situation, but changes to the service had to come about to meet its requirements set down by the Traffic Commissioner.
Buses could run up to six minutes late and one minute earlier, but with heavy traffic in the James Street area, that could not be met so the company opted to run it via the bus station and St Margaret’s Drive instead of New Row.
“When we knew there was a hoo-haa about people not being able to get up and down the New Row for a quick fix we got the D5/6.”
He continued, “When it was done, Stagecoach did not realise the amount of people who rely on the bus to take them up the town.
“But it wasn’t done without a reason, we were trying to give the people in Ballingry, Cowdenbeath, Rosyth some level of stability in their route and you paid the price,” he added.
Mr Rowley suggested that in light of the 19 being unlikely to be reinstated on that stretch, and it being unacceptable to wait until the replacement service comes on stream in March, a campaign be launched to take the fight to the bus company and local authority.
Photo used under a Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user markhillary.