A rural community bus is at risk of being axed unless more villagers use it or fresh faces come forward to help run and drive it.
The Killin Community Bus has been a vital transport connection for those living in and around the village for more than 50 years, but the volunteers who run the service fear it could be lost due to a lack of use and a lack of volunteers joining its committee.
An Emergency General Meeting (EGM) has been called for next week where local residents will find out what is required to maintain the service.
The Killin Community Bus has been running since 1968 and is funded by local and national charities as well as individual donations.
The bus is run by a committee of volunteers, faithfully led by long standing chairman Charlie Grant. The bus is situated in Killin, but other nearby communities – including Crianlarich, Tyndrum, Lochearnhead, Balquhidder and Strathyre – can also use it.
It has been a vital service in the community for many years and has provided Christmas shopping trips to Livingston, staff days out for local businesses and more recently to take Ukrainian children housed in the village on trips.
The bus is hireable and costs 75p per mile. It can seat 13 passengers and can work out much cheaper than public transport.
The current bus was purchased just a few months before the first Covid lockdown.
Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area.
There is no special licence needed to drive the bus, a standard driving licence, a small form to fill in and being between the ages of 25-75 is all that is needed to register to become a driver. Committee member and Killin community stalwart, Ron Allner, is on hand to help guide people through the process and show them around the bus.
A spokesperson for the volunteer committee detailed the plight facing the future of the bus, saying: “The community bus is at real risk of no longer being a service.
“We need to recruit more volunteers to fill the available positions within the committee. As well as general positions needing filled, our chairman, Charlie Grant, is stepping down after over 50 years, as well as our company secretary, Donald MacIver.
“However, it’s not only committee members we need to continue the running of the bus, we also need registered drivers and general users. The bus is unfortunately not being used to the extent it once was by the local and wider communities, notably the use of the bus has declined since the pandemic.”
All local residents are invited to the EGM.
The spokesperson added: “The whole future of the bus will be discussed at this meeting. All are welcome to the meeting.
“If the committee positions do not get filled and if the bus continues to not be used, the committee will unfortunately have no other option apart from stopping the service, which obviously would be a real shame for the current users of the bus.”
The EGM will take place in the Lesser Hall at 7pm on Tuesday, April 25.
