I have received complaints recently from some residents in the Blackness Avenue area about the reliability of the Stagecoach Strathtay 73 service - the following is an example of the concern from one resident :
“On the last three occasions that I have waited at the seagate bus stop for the 3.03pm and the 3.11pm 73 bus they have not turned. Two buses then turned up at 3.23pm arrived. When we reached Whitehall Street the passengers were unload onto one bus and then the empty on proceeded to go back to the Arbroath route thus not completing its run to ninewells. This left the bus to Ninewells completely full. Passengers that travel everyday say this is a regular occurrence.”
I raised this matter with the bus company's Operations Manager and have received the following response :
"I write to you in response of the complaint that you received from a constituent regarding our 73 service.
Your constituent states that this problem happens regularly and as a result, I shall have this matter investigated and these services monitored by a Company Official at different stages of the route to see if there is a problem that is causing these delays.
Sometimes it is outwith our control when buses are running late if this is due to traffic or roadworks, and on occasions this may due to a breakdown as I'm sure you can appreciate this can happen from time to time.
I would be grateful if you could pass on my apologies on behalf of Stagecoach Strathtay and thank your constituent for bringing this matter to my attention as customer feedback is important to the Company as this can help with future planning, I sincerely hope that they have no further problems with our services."
I have responded saying that "the complaint is about this happening regularly so I doubt it is because of temporary roadworks or breakdown but I would be grateful for further feedback once the matter has been fully investigated."