Concerned parents are campaigning with residents along the route of a popular bus service through Stirling that is facing a cut in services.
The 15A route between Perth and Stirling offers a lifeline service for many users, including school pupils travelling to Dunblane High who regularly make use of the public service to get to and from school.
Until now, the bus runs on an hourly timetable, but operators Stagecoach are planning timetable changes which will move the 15A to a two-hourly schedule, leading to significant disruption for those reliant on the bus for work, school or socialising.
Parent Kristine Scott from nearby Braco - who has two children attending Dunblane High - has launched a petition urging Stagecoach to reverse their plans. At the time of going to press the petition has picked up 378 signatures.
Kristine said: “The Perth to Stirling service is being drastically cut and the knock-on impact of that is going to be high.
“The 8am bus - which is one those set to be cut - is always packed with commuters, school pupils and elderly people heading into Stirling to get their pension or head to a club.
“It seems like a very strange chop from Stagecoach because the 6.59am service which is staying doesn’t have many people on it, but the 8am is packed and it seems as if it is all being done very quickly because I had to look into the small print to find out what is going on.
“We’re just hoping that Stagecoach can use their resources correctly on the right routes to ensure the maximum use of the service.
“This will also mean that more people are going to use cars, which is totally against what the Scottish Government is trying to do because they’ve handed out a free bus pass for young people that they won’t be able to use.”
The campaign has already attracted support from Kristine’s local community council, MSPs and politicians in the area and from the parent council at Dunblane High - with the bus operator being inundated with emails protesting the change.
Environmental charity Friends of the Earth Scotland have also got on board with the efforts to reverse the timetable changes, which are set to come into effect on October. 31
Gavin Thomson, transport campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland said: “Transport is our biggest source of climate emissions. We urgently need to invest in our public transport while taking cars off the road.
“This huge raft of cuts from Stagecoach will take us in the wrong direction.
“Stagecoach needs to work with councils and the Government to address any issues.”
A spokesperson for Stagecoach East Scotland said, "This service has long been one that requires the financial support of Perth & Kinross Council to operate.
"Around five years ago Stagecoach took the decision to add some additional journeys to the contracted timetable in order to stimulate additional demand on the service.
"Due to the loss of patronage as a result of the pandemic, our proposal is to revert back to operating only the supported journeys which are timed for school links to and from Crieff rather than Dunblane.
"As the consultation closes, we will look at the issues we have received feedback on and will then advise of any changes to our original proposals."
