Public transport is something most of us take for granted — but what if there are no buses in your area, or at the very least a very limited service like in Donside?
After a reader from Strathdon, where there are no bus services, asked me to look at her area next, I was pretty intrigued.
While many of us may moan about our buses, could you imagine not having any buses at all?
And just how do people get by without a bus service in such a rural area?
I couldn’t try the bus journey as usual since there’s no service to areas like Strathdon, so on this occasion, I had to drive out instead.
Read more as:
- I spoke to a former Donside bus driver who now lives where the old bus garage used to be in Bellabeg
- Lumsden locals tell me people can’t even buy fresh fruit or vegetables, or make hospital appointments, now buses have been axed from village
- Alford residents say they never use the bus because it’s so “unreliable”, but bringing trains back would be “amazing”
- An NHS worker had to change her hours to fit around the new bus timetable
First stop: Aberdeen to Bellabeg
I drove straight from Aberdeen to Bellabeg, which took around an hour and 20 minutes, and I arrived just as preparations for the Lonach Gathering were well under way, despite the wet and rainy day.
My first port of call was the local shop, where the owners told me that locals have just got “used to” not having a bus service and have “adapted”.
While bus services were axed years ago, the public can still use the 219 Strathdon to Alford school bus.
I was also told a gentleman recently had to move from Strathdon because he couldn’t drive anymore, and because there was no other transport in the area he had no option but to move elsewhere.
Former Donside bus driver reminisces about the old services
George Thomson, who has lived in Bellabeg since 1962, drove the village bus for more than 40 years.
He recalled that the bus would go from Cock Bridge to Aberdeen and back again, and said “it used to be a good service”.
George stopped working as a bus driver before the service was stopped in the area, and says he has many fond memories.
“It was used more when I first started, but the school used it as well,” he explained with a smile. “There were two drivers and two conductresses…
“It was stopped because it wasn’t well used, like in most rural places. But, you miss it when it’s gone.”
Then he added: “This house is where the old bus garage used to be.”
And, much to my surprise, he brought over a wooden framed picture showing a bus parked outside the garage where his house is now standing.
George explained the railway was meant to be built out to Strathdon, but it “never got past Alford”, and the Railway House next door was instead used as the bus depot and waiting room.
But he and his wife bought over the old garage and knocked it down to build their house when it closed.
Lumsden local says lack of bus service has been ‘really impactful on community’
I retreated to the car where I peeled off my rain-soaked jacket and blasted the heating before heading to Lumsden.
The village used to have buses going to Huntly and Alford, but the services were stopped a few years ago, leaving only a school bus.
I got chatting with Sam Trotman, who has lived in Lumsden for eight years and couldn’t drive when she first moved to the village.
Every Saturday she could catch the bus to get her weekly shopping and visit friends in places like Huntly. But over the years, the services have been cut in the area.
“Thank God I learned to drive before they were cut,” she said.
“It’s been really impactful on the community. We have a lot of people here in the village who don’t have access to their own transport.
“Some may be living in social housing and they can’t get out or buy fresh fruit and vegetables in the village — so it’s very restrictive in that way.
“If you’ve got a hospital appointment, or even if you want to go for a swim in Huntly or Alford, you can’t. So provision for young people is really difficult around here, especially in Lumsden.”
‘These aren’t luxuries, these are essentials being cut’
Taxis have also been cut from the village, meaning people may need to call one from Keith or Aberdeen if they really need one and be charged the extra cost.
The lack of public transport has also meant people in the community “have had to step in” to help each other out.
And while Sam says she understands it may not be economically viable to run buses in rural areas, she believes the council’s A2B service could step in and offer better provisions than it currently does.
Sam finished: “I don’t think these are luxuries, these are necessitates that are being cut from us and it’s part of what is making it very difficult to sustain people living in hyper rural areas.”
Community steps in to help those who can’t drive in Lumsden
I went past the local shop, and one staff member told me there are a lot of “younger folk who can’t work” because they can’t drive.
She explained that people used to be able to go to Insch and get the train to wherever they needed to go, but now “people get stuck” in Lumsden.
But, the community has pulled together to help each other out, particularly for those who can’t drive or don’t have access to a car.
The Scottish Sculpture Workshop runs a community fridge every Thursday so people can access fresh fruit and vegetables, and run social events for the village.
And on Friday, a minibus run by the Silver Circle, part-funded by Aberdeenshire Council, takes people to do their shopping, which covers the Strathdon area too. Another voluntary driving group in the area is Rhynie Car Aid.
‘It’s just so isolating’
My last stop was Alford, where there are bus services, but they are all either funded, or part-funded, by the council.
Jodie Bews, owner of Everlongart in Alford, said she knows some people in Lumsden who can’t drive and she’s only seen them once or twice since the buses stopped running.
“They have to rely on family all the time, it’s so unfair,” she explained. “And everybody’s busy, so they don’t want to put that on their families.
“It’s just so isolating in this day and age, I don’t get it at all.”
According to the artist and shop owner, quite a lot of people now visit Alford and the town is just getting bigger and bigger, with plenty of people commuting to Aberdeen for work too.
So she can’t understand why there isn’t a better bus service for the area.
She says she constantly sees people putting “shoutouts” on Facebook asking for lifts, and also pointed out that a 50-minute car journey actually takes around an hour and a half by bus.
Trains to Alford would be ‘amazing’
While studying at college, Jodie had to catch the 6am bus to get to Aberdeen on time, but she passed her driving test around 13 years ago and hasn’t used the bus since.
“I know it’s a real issue for folk, and sometimes they’re delayed because there’s breakdowns and things like that,” she added. “And I think there’s more kids using the buses now because they’ve got the Young Scot cards, but I’ve heard some of the older people don’t like getting on when there’s so many kids.”
Jodie added that not everyone can drive, and it’s not feasible for everyone, whether it’s because they’re over a certain age, or they don’t have the confidence, or simply can’t afford to learn or run a car.
She finished: “Alford used to have a train, and the train line is still there… that would be amazing.
“I can’t see that happening again, but it would be so good.”
NHS worker pays more than £200 a month for limited service
An NHS worker who lives in Alford, and did not wish to be named, shared her frustrations about the bus services with me.
She relies on the 218 bus to get to Aberdeen for work every day because she can’t drive.
When she first started using it everything was fine, there were sometimes delays which she didn’t mind too much and she got to know all the drivers.
But since the Insch depo was closed and the timetables were changed in August, the service seems to have gone downhill.
The NHS employee has even been forced to change her working hours because of the new timetable.
And, she said it costs her £51.20 a week, or £204.80 every month, just to get to work.
Fears of cancellations and not getting home
She catches the last 218 bus to Alford, which is meant to leave Union Square at 5.10pm and arrive in the Aberdeenshire town by 6.39pm. However, she says it has “not left the station once on time”.
This means it picks her up much later, and she has arrived home after 7pm because of it, making her long days even longer.
The NHS worker also claims the new bus drivers aren’t “too inclined to stop” and sometimes she’s had to almost step out onto the road to flag them down.
The next bus isn’t until 8.30pm, which is quite a long wait in-between if she ever did miss her service, or if it was cancelled. And while that hasn’t happened yet, I couldn’t help but ask if she was nervous about it.
She nodded and answered: “Oh yes, there is a fear that it’s not going to show up, because so many get cancelled on a daily basis.
“And for £51.20 a week, you expect possibly a slightly better service, but it is a limited service and I do think it’s put more people back on the road.”
Aberdeenshire Council providing Donside with alternative transport
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman explained that the 231 services (Alford to Huntly) Monday to Friday inter-peak journeys were withdrawn in April 2019 because it was “one of the most poorly performing services in Aberdeenshire”.
However, it was replaced by the council-run Alford to Huntly A2B dial-a-bus service.
He added: “This free shopper service, which must be booked, runs on Mondays to Thursdays and is open to anyone who lives in Lumsden. The bus departs Lumsden at 10am going to Huntly supermarkets and town centre, arriving at approximately 10.30am and returning at 11:30am. On Mondays and Wednesdays, an additional return journey leaves Huntly at 1.40pm.
“There are local community transport groups who can assist Lumsden residents to get to hospital appointments. Car Aid Rhynie which serves Rhynie medical practice and Alford Car Transport Scheme which serves the Alford medical practice both offer transport to hospital appointments subject to the availability of volunteer drivers.
“In addition, the Silver Circle in Strathdon has a volunteer driver service that will also take people from Lumsden to hospital appointments, again depending on a volunteer being available to match the transport request.”
The local authority is consulting on its draft Passenger Transport Strategy, which also includes bus services.
The spokesman added: “It incorporates a proposed action plan of tasks to be undertaken including a review of the public transport network in Aberdeenshire, taking a local place-based approach, in conjunction with implementation of a North-East of Scotland Bus Services Improvement Partnership Plan.”
Stagecoach has also been approached for a comment.
If anyone is unsure what assistance is available to them for attending medical appointments they can contact THInC for advice on 01467 536111 or email travel@thinc-hub.org
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