TRAFFIC Commissioners at Inverness have agreed on a six-week reprieve
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for the Inverness-Whitebridge Saturday bus service. Highland Omnibuses had asked permission to withdraw the service because of a fall in the number of passengers carried. The service — two return journeys each Saturday — on occasions carried only one or two passengers.
Representations against the company's proposals were made by Highland Regional , Councillor T. Mackintosh and local people. A council representative said they were concerned that the community would be left without a service on a Saturday. If the bus ran at more convenient times, the number of passengers might be higher.
The council was also concerned because the service carried bread, milk, parcels and newspapers. Delivery and collection of mail would also be adversely affected.
Mr Mackintosh said: "It is a very serious matter to cut off a very large rural area, containing several communities, completely from a public transport system from Friday to Monday and it is clearly quite unacceptable that this state of affairs should exist."
Mr Steele, for Highland Omnibuses, said they had not received any representations suggesting that the time-table be amended. But he agreed to a suggestion that the afternoon run from Whitebridge be retimed to get people into Inverness in time for the football kick-off times.
The Commissioners were given copies of an amended timetable suggested by Highland Region's transport section. It would mean the afternoon bus arriving in Inverness at 2.15, instead of 2.45. Mr Steele offered to try out the new timetable for an experimental period.
The Commissioners agreed the new schedules be tried for a six-week period starting on September 4. Further representations could then be made by the parties concerned.