Residents of Pitlochry in Highland Perthshire have been thanked for their heroic efforts when locals helped coach passengers in a jam.
A Megabus bound for Edinburgh Airport got bogged down in Pitlochry with its driver and 72 passengers on New Year’s Day. However, a motley crew of witnesses broke into a sweat to free the slipping wheels from the snow.
The main street of Pitlochry was closed to traffic on January 1 from 1pm to 4pm to accommodate thousands of pedestrians who were enjoying the town’s popular annual street
party.
But when the Inverness-Edinburgh Megabus arrived around 1.30pm and tried to approach its usual stop on Atholl Road, no one had informed the driver how to handle the diversions.
The passenger coach had to go up West Moulin Road and come down the steep and narrow Bonnethill Road.
But as it was heading back down to the main street, the Megabus service going in the other direction was approaching head on.
When the first bus driver reversed to let the other bus pass, he lost traction and got stuck.
Cathy Joss, the Pitlochry Street Party chair, had got aboard to guide the driver through the diversion and, now seeing the trouble, she told him to “sit tight” while she got help.
She and local residents fetched shovels, grit and salt and between them, spent 20 minutes working to get the Megabus moving.
Cathy, who has been involved in the street party for 15 or so years, had never seen a situation like this but kept her head.
“There was no chance in hell I would have not helped the driver get his coach going,” she told the PA.
“Cars were building up behind, the other coach driver was getting shirty. I reassured him we’d get everybody sorted.”
To cheers from those on board, the coach got on its way and the flight connections of departing visitors were no longer in jeopardy.
The driver wrote to thank the town for saving the day, saying nothing like this had happened in his 17 years of driving buses.
“I was covering a Megabus from Inverness to Edinburgh today,” he wrote.
“When I was approaching Pitlochry high street, I came up to a road closed sign and a fence across the road much to my surprise.
“A woman wearing a high-viz vest came up to my bus... she volunteered to jump on and show me the way.
“Heading back towards the high street, we were then faced with a Megabus heading north.
“I had no option but to reverse back up the hill but once at the top, the road was covered in compacted thick ice and my bus started to slip.
“I had no traction and even though I was reversing, the coach was moving forward.”
He described how Street Party organiser Cathy set about sorting the situation: “The woman said she lived just round the corner and went off to fetch a shovel.
“She came back with two and we started digging. Then out of nowhere, about four local residents that had seen what was going on all went home, got their shovels and started digging and throwing salt under the coach wheels.
“It took some shunting to get out but finally the coach was freed much to the delight of the 72 passengers I had on my
bus. There was a big cheer and a round of applause as most passengers were on route to Edinburgh Airport to catch flights and onward travel.
“I just wanted to say that in 17 years of driving the buses, this is the first time I had been stuck like that and without Cathy and the other residents, I could have been there for a long time.”
Megabus Michael concluded: “What a fantastic community spirit I witnessed. You should be proud of your local community for banding together and getting us back on our way.”
