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To: Stagecoach West Scotland

Reinstate Evening bus service to Locharbriggs and Heathhall

Reinstate the evening bus service to Locharbriggs and Heathhall.

Why is this important?

The evening service No.1/2 has not been reinstated since the pandemic. Ten thousand people cannot get a bus to or from Dumfries town and are therefore excluded from being part of the rest of the town in a form of apartheid. We therefore cannot visit people, go to work or partake in social activities if we are not willing to walk up to four miles there and the same back.

Please join the campaign to put pressure on the Stagecoach company and on Dumfries and Galloway Council and Swestrans to provide their customers and community with a decent evening bus service like we had before.

Dumfries, UK

Maps © Stamen; Data © OSM and contributors, ODbL

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Updates

2022-08-23 08:50:49 +0100

Please share this petition if you haven't done so to get us over 400. And if we can get it up to 500 that would be even better obviously. I see that most parts of Dumfries have not had their evening buses reinstated including parts also a long way from town like Georgetown. Lincluden and Cargenbridge Nowhere is as far as Locharbriggs and Heathhall and there are two after 8 to Lochside, but the last one is at 1015.
So either Stagecoach are preserving their massive profits by deliberately not running evening buses in or out of Dumfries, thus causing damage to the night time economy, and risk and misery to the population, or Swestrans will not subsidise journies that make a loss. Probably both

2022-08-16 23:20:07 +0100

I have forwarded a copy of the letter I received from Swestrans today to those who asked to receive emails.
They blame Stagecoach entirely for the situation. The matter will be brought up at the next meeting of Swestrans board in mid September.
We await a response to my request for the Transport Secretary to enquire and intervene.I will pass the situation onto the public in the Standard a week on Saturday.

2022-08-15 20:47:47 +0100

I have received a reply to my second submission of the petition from Stagecoach and have sent it on where possible. Basically it is completely unacceptable saying it is a long process to get buses back on which has not been started yet. It pays no attention to the way other evening services have been brought back quickly all over the country. I am going to send it on to the Transport Secretary as it verges on the callous and smug.

2022-08-13 13:03:59 +0100

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/p/ReinstateeveningbusestoLocharbriggsandHeathhalll is the short name!

2022-08-12 21:43:46 +0100

I have resubmitted the petition to Swestrans and Stagecoach and have written to the Transport Secretary for help

2022-08-05 17:58:26 +0100

Please note that Stagecoach have announced new and improved services in September or before for Glasgow and Ayrshire. Why have they not done so in Dumfries and Galloway? Somebody is at fault here I think. Are we getting full support up here from Stagecoach, from Swestrans and from local councillors. This is getting more and more outrageous.

2022-08-05 17:09:09 +0100

https://photos.app.goo.gl/r6JGYBgQ5CBbQmtcA

2022-08-03 12:51:17 +0100

Most of the people who signed our petition should have received an email updating everybody with the current situation. The only change since then is that 38degrees have sent it out more widely in the region and to people who have signed bus petitions elsewhere so that should give the situation more publicity.

We currently have 345 signatures which is 80 more than when I submitted to Stagecoach, the Council and Swestrans.
Supportive letters have appeared every week in local papers for which I am sure we are grateful. Please write in especially if you have been badly affected by the withdrawal of all services after 820pm.
It seems an outrage to me that we have had no response from Stagecoach and Swestrans so I think we need to get more active by handing in paper copies of the petition with the press and media involved. I will be in touch with a date for that in a couple of weeks.

2022-07-16 16:25:37 +0100

Post below shows them taking off 6 buses in a row on Saturday pm. Did they know there were no X74s or 101s either due to roadworks. Are they picking on the furthest away places?

2022-07-16 16:16:02 +0100

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Pm5kE1frVS34vPLs7

2022-07-15 20:17:54 +0100

I have submitted this petition to Swestrans, Stagecoach, various Councillors, a couple of MSPs, and the Transport Minister.
It was primarily aimed at Stagecoach and Swestrans and they are expected to respond.
People can still sign it. Sometimes if you don't get anywhere you have to raise the issue at a higher level or with more force such as a demonstration. Hopefully this won't be necessary and good sense will prevail. I think an hourly bus at 920, 1020 and 1120 should be a minimum requirement, but we will see what is offered. Thanks again for joining in.

2022-07-11 15:34:01 +0100

Hi. Good to see it in Standard and Daily Record, good coverage. However I think everyone who wants to sign it and is IT semi literate has done so so I am going to submit it in a couple of days to as many politicians and Stagecoach management as possible. As they all should know about it by now I can't see much point in another article on it . If none of this works might need more action but hopefully they will see sense. Thanks to everybody again.

2022-07-08 16:08:35 +0100

My letter is in the Standard as hoped and it has a link to the petition so if you know anybody else that uses the buses or might do in an evening please get them to sign it if poss.
There is also an article as well where I am described as an OAP much to my chagrin as I think it is an ageist term. Anyway it's not me the petition is about but I suppose a journalist has to try to jive up articles. I managed to get out of having my photo but they managed to get Linda Dorward but she just went on about it not being subsidised. Well
probably I will write to them saying that it should be if necessary as it has a necessary public function. My email is [email protected] if anybody wants to comment or make suggestions. Cheers.

2022-07-06 11:25:02 +0100

There will be a letter in the Standard on Friday with a link to our petition..If we can get more signatures I intend to submit it to the Council and to Stagecoach in person.. Probably in about 4 weeks after the Trades Holidays. Hopefully some of you will turn up so I will let you all know. If that doesn't work I think we should goi into a public meeting and demonstrations.

2022-07-05 12:07:58 +0100

Please press links as I don't know how to repost links! The one below is to with protests further up the road about the removal of buses to Edinburgh by car using well paid bureaucrats and councillors paid by us!