Bus firm Stagecoach has apologised after nearly 50 of its services in Tayside and Fife were cancelled in one day.
At least 48 Stagecoach East Scotland buses failed to run on Monday.
The firm said the cancellations were due to staff sickness and poor weather conditions, and insisted it was working to ensure there was not similar disruption on Tuesday.
However, several further services have failed to run on Tuesday for reasons including “operational requirements”, “unforeseen circumstances” and “congestion”.
Fife worst affected by cancelled Stagecoach buses
Fife was the worst-affected region on Monday, with 32 cancellations to services from Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy, Leven, Halbeath Park and Ride, Burntisland, Dunfermline and Lochgelly, according to the operator’s social media pages.
At least 20 of those were in Glenrothes alone on the 37, 39, 39A, 42, 43, 43A, X24, X59 and X59A routes.
There were 10 cancellations reported in Angus with the 73 and 73A routes between Arbroath, Monifieth and Ninewells Hospital facing disruption.
Passengers in Brechin, Forfar, Kirriemuir and Montrose also faced problems on the 20, 21A, 27 and 40 routes.
Meanwhile, nine journeys travelling through Perthshire were cancelled on Monday.
Why did Stagecoach East Scotland cancel 48 bus services?
According to Stagecoach East Scotland’s X feed, where service updates are published, the following reasons were cited for Monday’s cancellations:
- Technical issue or vehicle fault – 18 cancellations
- Unforeseen circumstances – 14
- Operational requirements – 7
- Breakdown – 5
- No reason given – 3
- Congestion – 1
A Stagecoach East Scotland spokesperson said: “We apologise to any customers who are affected by journey cancellations on our network (on Monday).
“We have faced a number of challenges, including staff sickness and inclement weather impacting the reliability of our fleet.
“A number of these challenges have been addressed across our depots and we have put plans in place to avoid a similar level of disruption (on Tuesday).
“We encourage all customers to check their journey before travel on the Stagecoach bus app, and to allow extra time during winter weather conditions.”
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