Dundee bus cancellations impacting the city's most vulnerable
Christina Gibson, who holds a disabled bus pass, says the cancellations are affecting her mental health
Last updated 3rd Mar 2023
Dundee's issues with bus cancellations are impacting the most vulnerable in the city.
There were more than 80 services cancelled across the city on Tuesday.
Locals take to Facebook groups such as What's happening Dundee, Scotland, UK, to share daily updates on cancellations.
Christina Gibson holds a disabled bus pass under the mental health act and suffers from high anxiety and OCD.
The 47-year-old feels her mental health is being affected by the cancellations.
She said: "It's affecting me mentally.
"The good work I'm putting in to trying to help my mental health they're kind of taking me back a bit in terms of my recovery and my mental health.
"It's like they're kind of triggering it.
"They're causing a problem and creating a trigger basically."
She added: "I'm so frustrated with the bus service and so frustrated at getting let down.
"I feel like I'm getting let down constantly and that's only a mirror of what they're doing out there to the public."
Christina doesn't drive and relies on public transport to get around.
She's telling us she feels she's constantly facing issues when using bus services. She said: "There's always something. Bus cancellations, drivers taking wrong routes and buses late. It's just going right across the scale.
"I see out there on the street how that affects other people as well. You're talking disabled people in wheel chairs, people picking up kids from school, it's affecting everybody, not just myself."
She added: "It's absolutely ridiculous, you're getting two busses (cancelled) in a row and you're having to wait around in the town and for somebody like myself, I've got asthma, so I'm vulnerable due to that. I've got a history of severe chest infections so I'm being left out in the elements when these bus cancelations are happening."
Christina says her next mission is to start a petition and she hopes to gain the backing of a local councillor.
Xplore Dundee have been approached for comment.
A statement on their website on cancellations says: "We're sorry for any disruption caused to your journey as a result of staff being unavailable. This is part of an ongoing national issue which is being compounded by sickness absences.
"We're doing our best to work around these things. Please allow extra time for travelling (as any buses being missed may have a knock-on effect to other buses in service)."