Event travel provider Happy Bus has assured Rewind festival-goers they “do not anticipate” travel issues this weekend after buses from Tayside to Gerry Cinnamon in Glasgow were cancelled last-minute.
Dundee music fans heading to Hampden were left stranded at the weekend when the bus company cancelled services the night before Sunday’s gig.
Operators blamed a severe staff shortage, saying a number of drivers had let them down.
Will Happy Bus run to Rewind Festival?
It sparked fears the same thing will happen this weekend, when 80s music fans flock to Scone Palace for the 10th anniversary Rewind Scotland festival.
Bus company Happy Bus have reassured its customers they will still be providing transport to Rewind following the recent last-minute cancellations.
A spokesman said: “We do not anticipate the same issues this weekend.”
Gerry Cinnamon fans forced to make last-minute travel arrangements
Wendy Forbes from Dundee had tickets booked to the Gerry Cinnamon concert since before Covid-9 struck and was disappointed when the bus cancelled the night before, despite booking well in advance.
She said: “We’ve had the tickets since Christmas pre-Covid for my son who is 14-years-old.
“They just sent an email the night before and said they didn’t have any drivers but were still offering people a lift back from Glasgow, just not buses there.
“I tried to sell the ticket last-minute but nobody would bite.”
She added: “My mum was the fairy godmother and managed to book us into a hotel so we just had to drive to Glasgow instead and then drive back the next day.
“We paid around £70 for the bus tickets and we’ve probably had to spend over £200 now on the hotel and petrol.
“We’re just glad we actually got to go to the concert because we’ve been waiting a long time but it has been really stressful.”
The Happy Bus spokesman said the company is struggling with the national driver shortage.
He said: “Since the concert/festival season started we have had to deal with constant disappointments and cancellations along the way.
“Demand has also increased due to the rail strikes across the country .
“Last week was particularly bad for us as we approached the first Gerry Cinnamon dates.
“We had two operators cancel on us at the start of the week due to shortages.
“This was bad enough but we managed to replace all the coaches however, on Friday evening we then had word we had just lost another two drivers.”
‘Circumstances were out of our control’
The company managed to arrange travel for fans returning back to Dundee after the concert but were forced to cancel transport on the way there.
He said: “We spoke to the local taxi firms that have previously stepped in for us but unfortunately there would just not be enough availability to cover the job.
“We did the only thing we could do, we contacted every passenger on Friday night to let them know of the situation.
“We offered a full immediate refund or a half refund and a bus home .
“The circumstances were out of our control but we feel we responded in the best way we could given the time constraints and very late notice.”
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