Aberdeen bus routes facing cuts
Aberdeen bus routes facing cuts
Councillor expresses ‘grave concerns' over cuts
By
David Ewen and Neil Evans
Published:
07/05/2009
CUTS: Bus services in Aberdeen face being scaled back.
BUS bosses are planning a raft of cuts to services in Aberdeen, the Evening Express can reveal today.
But an Aberdeen City Council report warned the cuts to bus routes would have a "huge detrimental" effect on parts of Aberdeen.
And it said the bus plans would "isolate" some Aberdeen communities.
Ten bus routes will be hit with cuts this summer with one route scrapped altogether.
The bus routes affected are:
Service 40 - Park and Ride - Kingswells/Bridge of Don
Service 20 - City Centre/Hillhead of Seaton
Service 9 - RGU UniLink - Schoolhill/Garthdee RGU Campus (via Auchinyell)
Service 16/16A - Craigiebuckler/Airyhall/Springhill
Service 12 - Heathryfold/Torry
Service 24 - Peterculter/Broad Street
Service 3 - The Purple Line - Mastrick/Cove
Service 17 - Newhills/Faulds Gate
Service 21 - Dyce - Charleston/Altens
Service 23 - Heathryfold/Sheddocksley via city centre
The report said First Aberdeen blamed a "significant decline in bus use" and also highlighted concerns over reliability.
The bus firm is part of city-based transport giant FirstGroup, which is expected to make a £320 million profit this year.
Today Aberdeen City Council's transport spokesman Ron
Clark said he had "grave concerns" the company was putting profit
before people.
He said: "I appreciate they're a private company but I'm worried they keep reducing the service until there is no service."
First Aberdeen refused to comment on the individual bus
route cuts, which have been registered with the Traffic Commissioner
for July 13.
Managing director George Mair said the changes were being made so buses could be redirected to where demand was greatest.