Bluebird culled as bus route fails to fly

A North-East bus firm has admitted failing to hit punctuality targets for the second time in two years.
Stagecoach Bluebird's number 7 bus service between Porlethen and Aberdeen is to be changed due to the problems.

Last May, people living in Portlethen, Stonehaven and Montrose were offered slashed bus prices on four Stagecoach Bluebird routes. The offer came after dozens of passengers faced delays or problems with routes after a shake-up to the 7, 7A, 8 and X7 routes.

A customer notice from Stagecoach Bluebird at the time said the firm had received a number of complaints. However a spokeswoman for the firm today said problems had arisen again:

"Our monitoring of the route 7 had identified occasional reliability problems. As a result of this we are making some minor changes to the route from Monday which we hope will resolve any issues. We will also continue our extensive customer analysis and service monitoring to ensure we are able to address any problems that may arise."

Inverbervie resident Alison Evison, who is due to stand as Labour's candidate for North Kincardine, said people were worried about the unreliability of the number 7 bus. Mrs Evison said she hears daily complaints about the service.

She said: "Buses do not arrive at the designated time or arrive too full to accept more passengers." Mrs Evison added that buses running late caused serious problems for people trying to get to work or college.

Fatima Joji