COURIER OPINION: Xplore’s Dundee bus cancellations must be solved urgently

Reliable bus services are lifelines for the communities they serve.

Sadly, the word reliable is hard to attach to the Xplore operation that serves most of Dundee.

Yesterday alone more than 200 services were cancelled in the city.

That, unfortunately, is becoming less of the exception and more of the rule.

For weeks now the bus company has been cutting services.

It blames a perfect storm of fewer passengers, higher costs and difficulties in recruiting enough drivers.

Even a new timetable brought in earlier this month has failed to properly stem the problems.

A city without reliable public transport can quickly become a ghost town.

Businesses and venues will suffer as much as paying passengers.

It is obvious from the past few weeks that there are no easy solutions.

But it is imperative that one is found – and quickly – before irreparable damage is done.