Action taken after timetable change added up to half hour to five-minute journey

Stagecoach’s 33 service from Kirkcaldy to Dunfermline covers Cowdenbeath and Cardenden, and is used by a large number of commuters to get to work, including Queen Margaret Hospital.

Ending the service at 5:15pm from Dunfermline meant that a large number of people were being asked to take a later bus to Fife Retail Park at Chapel Level, Kirkcaldy, change and wait for another service to come back into the communities of Cluny and Cardenden - adding 20 to 30 minutes to what should be a five-minute journey time.

Councillor Rosemary Liewald, who represents Ward 8, which covers Lochgelly, Cardenden and Benarty, has spoken in detail with Fife Council’s transportation and Stagecoach who have been working extensively on a number of changes to services across the Kingdom.

She raised the issue after many “were becoming increasingly concerned” as journey times “were looking later and far more complicated at the end of the working day.”

Now a service financially supported by the council and is in operation to tie in with Stagecoach’s commercial withdrawal.

Councillor Liewald welcomed the intervention of officers. As a result, a direct 33 bus will now leave Dunfermline at 6.35pm to accommodate workers finishing by 6:00pm. A Saturday 633am service will also help early shifts at the hospital and in Dunfermline.

Cllr Liewald added: “I am aware that many challenges are faced by our infrastructure providers in these tough times, but with a growing population within our villages and new families finding work in our lager towns and cities it is more than vital than ever that transportation links are in place.

“By providing regular and reasonably priced routes for travellers this will go toward encouraging a greater move from cars onto public transport and increasing our greener economy.”