Bus service wins a reprieve… for now

Mar 19 2008

A THREATENED rural bus service has won a temporary reprieve.

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) agreed a £5000 funding package on Friday for evening buses between Hamilton and East Kilbride (Service 13).

The buses link Quarter, Glassford, Strathaven and Chapelton.

Money from SPT will ensure that the service will continue for at least another 12 weeks.

Henderson Travel, who have run buses on that route since 1989, announced their intention to withdraw the evening service from Monday.

Thanks to the cash injection, the company will continue to operate the evening buses with the timetable unchanged.

Tenders are to be sought from operators willing to take on the contract long-term.

SPT’s director of bus operations, Eric Stewart, said: “Under current rules, commercial operators are free to withdraw services at any time, even if it leaves people without a bus link.

“SPT fund socially-necessary bus services to try to ensure nobody is left without access to public transport. “This can mean that we end up paying a commercial operator to continue a service they have just withdrawn.

“We are pleased to be able to fund these evening and Sunday services as they are very important to the local community. “However, we simply cannot afford to fund every service that is withdrawn by private operators. For that reason, we are working with our bus industry and local authority partners to come up with solutions to help provide Strathclyde with a first-class bus system.”

John Henderson, a partner with the bus company, said the Hamilton-East Kilbride service was one of 20 run by the company.

Based in Whistleberry Road, Hamilton, they have 75 staff and operate 37 buses.

The company had run the Hamilton-East Kilbride service for 18 years up until last summer with the help of a public subsidy.

Although Henderson’s lost the cash support, they continued to operate the evening buses.

Rising fuel costs plus low passenger numbers had, however, forced them to reconsider.

Mr Henderson added: “After losing the subsidy, we tried to run the service on a commercial basis.

“But we were employing a driver at a cost of £11 an hour to drive an empty bus.

“We remain one of the few companies that run ‘social service’ buses.

“A number of our services start at 5.15am and run until after midnight.”

l Details of the timetable for all bus services are available from Traveline on 0870 608 2 608.