Garioch Bus Forum Meeting – 29th April 2015
This was a well attended meeting which ran way over time due to the amount of questions and issues raised from the floor.
Stagecoach and Aberdeenshire Council officers gave a general update before moving on to an open discussion on area-based issues.
I have been pushing Aberdeen City on moving forward with improvements on the Kingswells Park & Ride – as has Stagecoach themselves and Aberdeenshire Council officers. This will facilitate more services within the Park & Ride and allow services such as X17 to link in to other routes for example to the airport. Aberdeen City Council have had funding for this for some time but only granted themselves planning permission in March to carry out the improvements. It is now hoped completion will be in September. Following the Westhill bus consultation last year, Steve Walker of Stagecoach confirmed that he hopes to be in touch with local community councils in the very near future to feedback the outcome of that consultation. Some of the issues I was asked from local residents to raise included:
- Expanding the X17 to serve the top end of Westhill Drive, i.e. Hilltop Turning Circle.
- Pass on appreciation of the A2B dial-a-bus service. It is a lifeline to many residents in the community and the drivers are highly praised and valued for the excellent service they provide.
- Improved service to include Kirkton of Skene/Broadshade/business park.
- Update on the new Echt to Westhill service.
Items 1, 3 and 4 will be included in the discussions between local community councils and Stagecoach as mentioned above.
Due to previous requests, it is hoped that Westhill will now be included in the multi-operator ticket discount zone. More details to follow.