Angry residents to fight 39 bus changes
BUS RAGE: Route changes have sparked local protest
MACEDONIA and Newcastle residents unhappy at the amendments to the number 39 and 39B Stagecoach bus services have vowed to continue their fight following their handing in of a 150 signature petition to company officials reports, NEIL HENDERSON.
The organisers of the campaign want the service and route changes that were introduced in February to be scrapped and the old route reinstated.
They have urged Stagecoach bosses to consider the signatures of all those who signed in protest as individual letters of complaint and have also listed a number of specific issues backing up their campaign.
Amongst them residents are unhappy the return journey from the town centre not taking in Roxburgh Road, and that fare charges have increased from £1.15 to £1.55, with an extra 15 minutes added to journey times.
Pensioners and families with young children who live in Macedonia have been particularly hard hit by the changes with no available Roxburgh Road drop off unless they stay on the bus until Newcastle before it starts its return journey back towards Glenrothes.
Residents have also been angered by the lack of any sort of public consultation prior to the changes being made and have branded the service a ‘disaster.’
The campaign organisers have been bolstered by support from a number of candidates in the forthcoming local elections amongst them, independent candidate Bob Taylor.
He told the Gazette: “Pensioners living in Gifford Court (just off Roxburgh Road) have been seriously inconvenienced by this.
“I think Stragecoach should go back the original route for three months while discussions with the Residents Association and the newly elected councillors take place.”
Local shopkeepers have also complained about the new service which many pensioners living in Macedonia regularly use to get to the Glenwood Centre and how they now have no way catching a bus back to their homes.
Ralph Dean, director of the St Ninians charity which has two shops in the Glenwood precinct, told the Gazette that there had been many disgruntled residents making a specific visit to the shop in order to sign the petition.
He added: “I’ve listened to a lot of angry people in the last few weeks who are unhappy a the 39 bus changes and along with the general state of the Glenwood Centre has been the main topic of conversation for our customers.”
Officials at the Glenrothes Bus Station, where the petition was handed in were unavailable for comment.
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Sunday 26 May 2013
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