Highland Council bus service project set to be expanded
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A pilot project run by Highland Council to provide in-house bus services could be expanded to include more routes.
The council, which introduced the project to deliver passenger and school transport services three months ago, says it has been success.
The scheme, which is set to make savings of around £1.4 million a year by operating in-house bus services, aims to provide relief for communities hit by unreliable public transport.
The routes so far include the Inverness, Nairn and Ross-shire areas.
- Launch of pilot scheme for Highland Council-run buses
- Shuttle bus service in pipeline for airport and new rail station
An update on the scheme has been given to the council’s redesign board.
Council convener and redesign board chairman, Councillor Bill Lobban, said: "This is one of four major redesign projects currently underway, and it is very encouraging to see that in just three months we have recruited a great team of drivers and the pilot routes are proving to deliver a reliable and cost-effective service to passenger and school pupils.
"This initial project clearly shows the direction of travel we should be taking in order to provide an efficient, cost-effective service."
Chairman of the economy and infrastructure committee, Councillor Ken Gowans, said all the eight pilot routes had been up and running since January and have proved to be a success.
"We have six double decker and seven single decker buses operating out of our new operational centre on Cromwell Road and arrangements are working well," he said.
"As well as making considerable financial savings, the project is about providing improved and more inclusive services for communities.
"Now that the initial pilot routes are under way and doing well, it is time to upscale and look at expanding and exploring opportunities for additional work streams."
He thanked the bus drivers and all involved in the pilot for their hard work and commitment to make it a success.
He added: "I also want to remind everyone that national concessionary schemes for bus transport apply to all of our in-house services.
"This includes the under 22 free bus travel scheme, allowing pupils who are non-entitled to school transport to use their free under 22 concession cards on all services."
The council is exploring options to procure specialist transport management software to support the school transport routes and the in-house services being delivered.
The update presented to the redesign board also highlighted that the use of electric buses is being further explored and officers intend to submit a bid to the Transport Scotland’s Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund.
Members were told that the public response to the dedicated Facebook page, Highland Council Buses, has been positive with real-time operational updates and key information promoted daily. It had attracted 900 followers in
the first six weeks.
A dedicated webpage Publicandcommunitytransport has also been set up with details of the services operated alongside timetables.
