A group of Dundee pensioners are claiming victory after getting a “vital” bus route reinstated near their homes.
Earlier this month people living in Barnes Avenue spoke of their disappointment that the number 23 bus had been re-routed and no longer passed their homes.
There was also confusion about the official route with Xplore admitting that on occasion bus drivers could get mixed up.
Parking issues
At the time Xplore said the main reason the bus was withdrawn from Barnes Avenue was parking issues and lack of space in the street.
Now however, after their concerns were made public, Xplore have announced that the bus will once more stop in the street.
A spokeswoman for the bus company said that after looking at the situation again they are putting the service back into Barnes Avenue.
‘Excellent news’
Elderly residents mounted a campaign to have the service reinstated, saying it was essential for their visits to shops and doctors appointments.
One of the campaigners was 79-year-old Pat Boylan.
She said: “This is excellent news.
“This really is a vital service to many people, especially elderly people, who live in this area.
“It was such a disappointment when the bus was taken out of the street and to hear it is to be coming back is brilliant.
“It means that it will be so much easier to get a bus from right outside our houses into town without having to walk too far.”
Review
A spokeswoman for Xplore Dundee said the parking problems in Barnes Avenue had improved, allowing them to reinstate the service.
“Following a review of the situation in Barnes Avenue we’ve decided to reinstate this part of the route for Service 23,” she said.
“Evidently the problem with an excess of parked cars is not quite as acute as it was when we took the decision to divert away from this area.
“The rise in homeworking means we’re seeing increased numbers of parked cars across the city and there are some hotspots where it can cause real problems for our vehicles to access residential streets safely.
“We’ll keep a close eye on this area in particular and would appeal to residents of Barnes Avenue to park with consideration for public transport and for their elderly neighbours who rely on our buses to get around.”
Challenging
She added that Barnes Avenue was one example of the challenges the bus company are facing in various areas due to the rise of homeworking and an increase in parked cars.
She said: “On street parking is the main thing which forced us to re-route and we hope that residents will realise that the bus service their elderly neighbours rely on will be in jeopardy again if the bus literally can’t access the street safely.
“With that in mind we are hoping to enlist the help of residents and local councillors to raise awareness of this and try to work together to ensure we can keep the route on this street.”
