Lib Dem councillor Steve Delaney today welcomed Aberdeen City Council’s unanimously agreement to increase the hours of operation of the temporary shuttle bus service which has been in operation in Kingswells since FirstBus withdrew services on 1st April 2017.

Councillors agreed to increase the hours of operation of the No 94 service to start at 6am and run until 11pm weekdays only. There remains no weekend service. The increased level of service will be funded until the end of the current financial year.

A report is coming forward to the September meeting of the Finance, Policy & Resources Committee with a view to addressing the lack of commercial bus services in Kingswells and other gaps in service across Aberdeen.

Steve has been campaigning for a full service to be restored to the area since First announced their intentions last September.

He said, “I’m delighted that all councillors have come together today to agree improvements to the No 94 shuttle bus service. I’ve said so many times before that the temporary service starts too late in the morning and doesn’t run late enough to be of use to shift workers. This improvement will be very welcome in Kingswells”.

“Having said this, the No 94 can only ever be regarded as a sticky plaster as the current service is too infrequent off-peak with around 1.5 hours between buses, does not run at weekends and is in effect only a feeder service for the X17 at the Park & Ride. Limitations of the current service results in residents requiring two, or often three, buses to get to their destinations, resulting in round trips of up to three hours a day, just to get to and from work”.

“What we need is a service which allows Kingswells residents to get to and from their destinations within an acceptable period of time. I look forward to proposals for a permanent solution for Kingswells coming forward to the September meeting’.

“Please rest assured I will continue to press for a longer term solution which runs 7 days a week, including evenings, and better addresses the needs of Kingswells residents”.

It is not yet clear what date the extended hours will commence from. A further update will be provided in due course.