Tonight I attended the Formartine Area Bus Forum for the first time since the Council election in May – where finally I could relate to a number of the issues residents have raised with me during the election campaign and the weeks since the election.

The main points of note to Mid Formartine were as follows:

•  Stagecoach are planning to review routes in January particularly as that is when they will have some idea of how the AWPR and Balmedie to Tipperty dualling will affect things.  No firm decisions have yet been made but they do need to find a balance.
• There is a road closure imminent which will afftect the 35 service.  The route will divert via Inverurie at Oldmeldrum, with a shuttle bus service to Newmachar.
• Newer busses are coming in December.
• It is hoped the new A90 dual carriageway will be used for busses for 2 way traffic from the 14th September to allow works to be completed, however this will mean Foveran is cut off from a bus service.  A shuttle bus service is possible.
• A review was promised for the 3pm-6pm window for the service via Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.  One resident told of the fact sometimes when the bus out of Aberdeen reaches the hospital it is alreafy full.  Another mentioned they’d seen an elderly man having to sit on the steps of the bus as the two seats for such persons were already occupied.
• Bus information to be put on the Cultercullen Bus Shelter was asked for.
• There was also a plea for a better service on bank holidays.
• A No smoking sign has been requested for the Potterton bus shelter.
• It was noted that some School busses still travel through Meldrum Square when they should be using the by-pass.
• The Meldrum, Bourtie and Daviot Community Council’s Future Vision Consultation had identified some bus routes for deliberation, which have been met with the following reply –
  – An evening and Sunday service on the Meldrum-Inverurie corridor:
  Unlikely in the near future due to no funding (I will keep enquiring about the likelyhood of this service as there seems to be demand meriting it remaining on the discussion table).
  – A review of the am/pm times of the service to the Airport and the routes within Westhill and Kemnay:
  Still reviewing this but the routes have been unchanged for twelve years
  – Request for bus services to be re-routed to serve the new co-op:
  Under discussion at present
  There was also a request for a bus stop at the Doctors Surgery which was met with a mixed response, it might be possible but it was highlighted there was no pavement between the coop and the doctors surgery.

As the meeting drew to a close in the “Bus Service Discussion” section of the agenda, I opted to take a Mid Formartine-wide approach to my own questionning.
I had heard that at previous forums, concerns around Ellon matters dominated these meetings – and this was no different – but on scrutiny of the bus routes, most in our ward appear to be centred around ending up at Ellon or (in the case of Balmedie) the Ellon Park and Ride.
It is my view that ‘rural bus services’ should not necessarily be centred around the commerciality of utilising facilities like a park and ride – if smaller towns have need for a bus service – they should get that bus service, and with Stagecoach promising a review of timetables in January I suggested it was a good time to have a full review of all routes – identifying where there is demand, particularly to destinations other than Ellon.

The Council currently subsidise rural bus services in Formartine to the value of £1,047,408.33 – are we in Mid Formartine getting our fair share of that service?  I’d welcome your thoughts – on what your bus service is like and where improvements could be made, and I’ll fight your corner.

Many residents, particularly in the Tarves area, have raised with me the issue of speeding busses on their route – I got an assurance this would be checked as the busses have the capacity to do that.

I also asked if the publicity around Student fares could be more widely used – not just around Freshers time.  We need to get more students onto public transport, and make it affordable.

On exiting the Forum, I visited the leaflet display too – and found an “Ellon Public Transport Guide” and a “Turriff Public Transport Guide” but no “Oldmeldrum and/or Balmedie Public Transport Guide” – there is also little Mid Formartine content in the “Aberdeenshire and Moray Public Transport Guide” either, I’ll be asking if this can be produced going forward.