New Community Bus Celebrated on BBC Reporting Scotland

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Community Transport has been all over the news in Scotland in recent days thanks to the amazing story of Glenfarg Community Transport Group.

After the devastating withdrawal of an infrequent but essential Stagecoach service, the Perthshire village rolled up its sleeves and set up its own bus service with a mix of paid and volunteer drivers, connecting Glenfarg to neighbouring Kinross for GP appointments, shopping trips and onward journeys by public transport across the whole of Scotland.

Now, the village is thriving, and better connected than ever, thanks to a new hourly service six days a week, which is proving highly popular with local residents. There were a record 400 passengers last week.

The story has caught the attention of journalists across Scotland, with articles in the Courier, the Guardian and on the BBC News website, as well as a feature on the BBC’s Reporting Scotland, the country’s biggest news programme.

CTA’s Director for Scotland, David Kelly, said: “It’s been fantastic to see such positive coverage of Community Transport by journalists from a range of different news outlets.

“It’s so well-deserved by Drew and all of the incredible team at Glenfarg Community Transport Group. They really show Community Transport at its very best – public transport by the community, for the community.

“Scotland’s bus network is shrinking with over 64,000 homes now without access to a regular bus of any kind. Many commercial bus operators are reducing or withdrawing services, some by as much as 10% in 2023 alone, leaving communities like Glenfarg to pick up the pieces.

“There are now 20 local, non-profit operators delivering scheduled, timetabled bus services across Scotland, helping to improve accessibility, boost local economies and reduce carbon emissions, from Broxburn to Strathaven to Glenfarg.

“We hope Glenfarg’s example will encourage more local authorities to invest in community-led solutions and inspire more groups to go for it, with advice and support from us at CTA.”

Intro to CT

You can learn more about CTA in Scotland’s ‘Intro to CT’ training programme here, which could help you and your community upskill to start on your own community bus journey.

News round-up

You can catch-up on all of the news items below:

‘Perthshire residents become bus drivers and save lifeline village service from the axe‘, The Courier, 22 August 2023

‘Our bus service was cancelled so we started our own’, BBC News, 23 August 2023

‘Volunteer bus service’, BBC Reporting Scotland, 25 August 2023

‘How a community bus service made a Perthshire village smile again’, The Guardian, 27 August 2023