Angry Stagecoach bus users have called for the operator to reinstate an axed service in the Carse of Gowrie.
The 39 bus serves several villages between Dundee and Perth.
It was introduced in May to replace the withdrawn 16 and X7 routes, but has been hit by cancellations and delays.
The Courier met with bus passengers waiting in Invergowrie, Errol and St Madoes on Wednesday morning as part of our Stop Stagecoach bus cuts campaign.
We wanted to hear about their experiences of using the 39 service.
Ninewells doctor faces issues on commute home
A few passengers are gathered at the Invergowrie Inn stop when we arrive.
The 9.25am 39 bus for Dundee – and eventually Arbroath – is due at any minute.
Dr Sourav Banerjee is a regular user of the service, using it for the short journey to Ninewells Hospital.
“The main issue I face is when I work at Ninewells and I’m trying to come back”, he says.
“The buses are often up to 40 minutes late. When it comes to following the timetable I’m not sure if it’s doing exactly what’s it meant to do.
“They have improved their online system so that I can track the bus when it is coming in, which is helpful.
“If I see it is going to be 40 minutes late, I can leave the hospital late.
“For Kingoodie it is more of a problem and Errol has very few bus services.”
He added: “I don’t have huge complaints but still it could be better at following the timetable.”
Buses in Invegowrie are still running at an hourly frequency, but Kingoodie is now served by only five buses per weekday in each direction.
‘They should reinstate the 16’
In Errol, we meet Samantha at one of the bus stops on the high street.
She is one of four passengers waiting for the 10.15am bus to Perth, which is displayed on a small screen in the bus shelter.
In March Stagecoach threatened to axe all its services through the village.
But a significant community backlash helped Errol maintain a service, with the 39 replacing the 16 and running at a lower frequency of two hours.
“It’s always late or if it hasn’t turned up then nothing is on the screen to say if it’s there,” says Samantha, who relies on the service.
“Nothing is on the (Stagecoach) app. Yesterday, my son was going to my parents house to cat sit and there were three buses that had been cancelled.
“They should reinstate the 16 back for every hour.
“The 16 could be late, but it was better than waiting two hours for the next one.
“I use the bus to go into town or to just do the things I need to do.”
‘Stagecoach is badly letting us down’
Despite it’s reputation amongst local residents, the 39 service has been running pretty smoothly on Wednesday as we arrive at St Madoes, with delays no longer than 5-10 minutes.
In this village there are more buses to choose from, with the 39 operating on an hourly basis and intercity Ember services to Edinburgh and Glasgow stopping off here.
But there is still anger from the passengers we meet at the village’s green stop.
“Stagecoach is badly letting us down and it’s just terrible”, says Graeme Smith.
“If you are trying to get to the (Perth) royal infirmary first thing in the morning there only seems to be one bus which is for staff and nothing to cater for the general public.”
He claims he recently had to get up at 5am to get the bus to PRI for a 7.30am appointment.
A 7.01am bus is timetabled to arrive at the hospital by 7.22am, leaving little margin for error if it is delayed.
Jim Welsh from Cumbernauld is also waiting at the stop.
His daughter lives in Errol and he often travels there to look after his grandchildren, using a direct Ember service.
“It was quite a good service when it was on the hour”, he says about the 39.
“But now they’ve changed it I would imagine it’s not so good for the people that live in the villages.
“Since they’ve changed it I’ve only used it once, but I would imagine it is quite an inconvenience for people.
“I used to get picked up in Perth, but now my daughter picks me up right here at St Madoes.”
‘The 16 was a hell of a lot better’
“It isn’t a service because it’s not something you can rely on,” says Errol resident, Kirsten Sinclair.
“I’m so annoyed because the 16 was a hell of a lot better than the 39.
“We do like to take the bus into Perth or Dundee to meet friends but now with a two-hourly service that is so unreliable, it’s almost become impossible to do that.”
It has been an ongoing issue for the mother of three teenagers, whose daughter had been relying on the 39 to travel to a job at a café in Perth.
“My daughter was on her final warning at work because of the buses always being late”, she explains.
“She left that job last weekend because it was either that or they were going to fire her.
“And that’s entirely to do with the fact that the buses are so utterly unreliable.”
What Stagecoach are saying
David Frenz, Operations Director for Stagecoach East Scotland, said: “Since launching on May 13, services 39, 39A and 39B have operated over 98% of the scheduled 132,000 miles.
“Accordingly, we do not believe that vehicle reliability is the main cause of disruption to the service and can confirm that all drivers receive full route training prior to driving the route.
“Service 39 has been impacted by several sets of roadworks since its introduction in May. These include the works on Dundee Road – Arbroath, Arbroath Road – Dundee, Jeanfield Road/Rose Crescent – Perth and currently the Friarton Bridge lane closures causing queues as far back as St Madoes. In addition, there have been a number of one-off disruptions, such as low hanging branches damaging vehicles in the Carse and gridlock in Dundee City Centre.”
The bus company boss said there was no plans to reinstate the 16 service.
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