First Aberdeen has stepped in to run buses for pupils attending Lochside Academy – sparing some youngsters an hour-long walk.
The move comes after Stagecoach announced it was axing its 21A/22A/22B Cove and Torry routes that went past the school.
Without transport, some pupils faced a 55-minute walk to the Wellington Circle site.
The routes were just three of many to be cut by Stagecoach in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray.
Bosses said the changes were needed last month as its current network was “no longer sustainable“.
When will the new Lochside Academy bus service begin?
Council officials scrambled into action to try and organise an alternative service in time for the new term beginning next month.
They held a number of meetings with First Aberdeen, and the firm has agreed to take over the services between Torry, Cove and Lochside Academy.
This will ensure pupils can still get to school for free thanks to the Scottish Government’s free bus travel scheme.
First will provide the new services from August 20.
Council co-leader and Torry councillor Christian Allard welcomed the move.
“There was real concern in the community following the withdrawal of the Stagecoach services,” he said.
“It is very good news that First Bus have stepped in to run the services on a commercial basis.”
Lochside bus routes faced axe before
The “valuable” Lochside Academy routes were at risk last year too.
Aberdeen City Council agreed to withdraw funding for the bus services as part of its controversial budget cuts.
The revelation left parents “unable to sleep” as they panicked about the safety of their children.
Some youngsters even said they would refuse to go to school as they didn’t feel safe walking the busy route which went along Wellington Road.
But, Stagecoach agreed to run the 21A, 22A and 22B services on a commercial basis.
However, its drivers said they were “breaking down” after frequently reporting incidents of abuse they faced at the hands of pupils.
They claimed that young people would verbally abuse, threaten and swear at them.
Meanwhile, the firm stated that some of its buses had fallen victim of “costly damage” due to vandalism by a small number of pupils.
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