‘Appalling bus services’ needs improved
People have missed important hospital appointments.
People in Dumfries and Galloway are calling for bus services to be improved.
Passengers are complaining about a number of issues including services not running on time, hours between buses, and a lack of shelter when waiting.
Buses are known to break down but because of the geographical scale of the region, it can take a while waiting for recovery.
Craig Andrew Brown from Bridge of Dee in the Castle Douglas area says it was an all-day event last week.
“I couldn’t make the connection onto the bus to Castle Douglas because my bus broke down. There are only two of those in the day and this was the last one at 2.20pm.
“So, I had to take a six-hour diversion and instead of getting home at 3.30pm, I didn’t get home until 9.30pm.”
Langholm is often a victim of long delays to and from Hawick or Carlisle, but the Muckle Toon suffers from no direct transport to Dumfries.
Driving young people out of the region
Anyone with no access to a car relies on buses but what could be a 20 minute hospital appointment can result in a six bus journey.
Jacky Chase says “I would catch the bus from here to Longtown, then another bus from Longtown to sometimes Annan, sometimes Dumfries, and then another bus from Dumfries central to DGRI. So, it’s at least three buses one way.”
Young people wanting nights out in Carlisle either have the get the bus home around 7pm, get a taxi, or stay overnight which Chase says is not good enough.
She fears this is driving the teenagers out of the region, as well as buses not running work-friendly hours, making it increasingly difficult for people to get to and from work.
But as you can imagine, not everyone can access the public services as easily as others.
Malcolm Ginn suffers from a disease affecting the nervous system in his legs, so he often uses a mobility scooter to get around.
He says because the bus ramp doesn’t line up with the pavement, it makes it difficult to get on and off due to its unevenness.
The limited space in the disabled area also proves challenging if there is already a pram there.
Ginn doesn’t qualify for hospital transport and says the multiple buses to get to DGRI and back are too much and not all buses are accessible.
“Probably about 80% of my appointments over the last year and a half have either been cancelled or had to be rearranged. Physiotherapy in my condition is critical but in the last year and a half, I’ve only had two appointments with the physiotherapist.”
Many people find it difficult to plan their days due to the risk of late buses or worse, a no-show.
The times at the bus shelter often don’t match the apps and not everyone has access to the online timetable.
Julian Cohan from Creetown says “That can be a challenge because if you miss that one then you might have another three hours to wait for the next bus.”
He adds that a majority of the buses don’t have toilets so elderly people who have missed the bus and waited for the next one and travelling up from Newton Stewart to Dumfries might struggle to wait that extra two and a half hours on board.
'Appalling services'
Clare Wylie has an aunt living in Annan and finds the services appalling.
“I think it’s quite restrictive; the timings and what buses she can get. She can’t get to church on a Sunday due to the lack of buses or the times they arrive.
“She often leaves hours before her appointments in case it's late or doesn’t show up which makes her quite anxious. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen her pay for taxis because of this.”
Dial-a-bus has become a popular request amongst the region, particularly in rural areas such as Eskdalemuir.
The village between Langholm and Lockerbie has an older population who depend on the buses as many don’t drive or choose not to in bad weather.
Many are old school and don’t have smartphones to check the app, but the timings posted at the bus stops aren’t up to date, meaning they can wait a long time.
There are only a few runs a day to the likes of Lockerbie and isn’t always compatible with their needs.
Lisa Warden says, “The bus arrives at Lockerbie’s Tesco and literally parks outside the door, which is great, but the bus back is 20 minutes later so if they miss that one then they have to wait up to three or four hours, and not everyone can afford to go to cafes to pass time.”
She adds it won’t be the first time people have grabbed enough for one day instead of a full weekly shop just to make the bus home.
In case of a late service or no-show at the village, the community has kitted out their shelter to make it comfortable, particularly during the colder, darker months.
“We’ve got some lovely bus stops here which are fully decked out with books, snacks, and loose change. People can wait a long time for a bus that doesn’t show and it’s pretty grim having to walk all the way back home.”
Lara Porter, the community hub manager is hoping to be granted a minibus.
“It would reduce the number of times the buses run up and down this road with nobody in so, it would be better for the environment as well as economical because people could club together.
“They could also go to the cinema together and do more social things and have trips to Dumfries.”
We’ve asked Dumfries and Galloway Council, Stagecoach Dumfries, and SWESTRANS for a response.