Vital bus services saved for Clydesdale

May 15 2008

A NUMBER of much-needed bus services in Clydesdale will continue, thanks to a £4million investment by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.

SPT subsidise dozens of local bus services, which are deemed to be socially necessary but which are not provided by private operators.

Earlier this month SPT members agreed to spend £4,086,100 for the continuation of 18 bus services from July 2008 for a period of between three and five years.

Contracts renewed included bus routes in Clydesdale.

These included: Service 255 (Netherburn ∙ Hamilton), Service 253 (Coalburn ∙ Hamilton) and Service 254 (Hamilton ∙ Strathaven) awarded to Whitelaws Coaches, Ltd for five years at a cost of £578,327.

Service 105/335 (Lanark Local) awarded to Stuart's coaches at a cost of £67,500 for five years.

SPT director of bus operations Eric Stewart, said: “I'm delighted we can provide these services. Some people would be cut off from public transport if it wasn't for SPT and local authority funding.

“However, we have limited funds and unfortunately we simply can't afford to subsidise all the routes that private operators choose not to serve.

“That's why we are working closely with bus operators and our local authority partners to come up with a solution which will provide Strathclyde with a first-class bus system.”

Timetable details are available by telephoning Traveline on 0871 200 22 33 and at travelinescotland.com.