A Perthshire community is without a bus service after Stagecoach removed services due to ‘safety concerns’ around overhanging branches.
Residents of The Grange near Errol were told on Monday evening the 39 bus would no longer serve the area due to excess foliage on the roadside.
The 39 is a newly introduced bus route in the Carse of Gowrie to replace the former 16 and X7 services, withdrawn by Stagecoach.
Since its introduction, following a campaign by The Courier and Carse of Gowrie residents to save the bus route, the service has been met with a number of complaints.
The latest reduction in service follows widespread anger over late and cancelled buses.
Residents ‘fed up’ with issues
Carse of Gowrie councillor Angus Forbes has been collecting data to send to Stagecoach about the problems with the service.
On the latest issue, he told The Courier: “I was really disappointed to learn that Stagecoach will not serve Grange at the moment.
“Stagecoach tell me this is due to trees damaged by a lorry which are now blocking the route for their bus.
“I know the council have been contacted and I am chasing them to make sure this is resolved as quickly as possible.
“The people across the Carse of Gowrie are now really fed up with issues with the bus service, firstly the downgrade of the service, then constant delays and cancellations and now this diversion.
“I hope the council can get the trees dealt with very soon because I am concerned that people from Grange may not get to Errol on Thursday to vote.”
Council need to take action, say Stagecoach
The Courier understands the branches are now being dealt with by Perth and Kinross Council as a matter of urgency.
A spokesperson for the local authority said: “We have been contacted by Stagecoach regarding issues with overhanging tree branches affecting some local bus services in the Grange area.
“We will arrange with the relevant landowner for the necessary tree trimming to be carried out as soon as possible. We understand also that the operator is running single decker buses where it can to minimise impact on these services.”
Stagecoach have apologised for the latest setback.
A spokesperson for Stagecoach East Scotland told The Courier: “Journeys are currently unable to serve Grange due to overhanging tree branches on the route and are instead temporarily diverting via the A90.
“We have reported this issue to Perth and Kinross Council and asked for action to be taken as soon as possible, to allow us to resume normal service.”
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