Bus campaigner hits out at Stirling Council over proposals to axe local services

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A furious local campaigner has blasted council proposals which would see several rural bus routes in and out of Stirling cut.The plans are included in Stirling Council’s public consultation document, as it aims to make savings and close a £13million budget gap for next year and a further £5million deficit in 2024/25.Included in the document are a trio of options for cutting subsidised bus services in the region, with the options projected to save between £45,000 and £216,000 per year depending on the options chosen.The X10 route is carried out commercially on most routes by McGills, with the proposals related to services undertaken by the council on the route.The services under the spotlight would be the S60 between Tyndrum and Stirling and then various changes to the X10 bus - which operates between Balfron and Stirling, criss-crossing many of the villages in between.In Option B, the X10 Sunday service would go from April next year, with evening journeys on both X10 services and C11 from Cambusbarron set to go from August 2024.Option C would remove the threat to the X10 Stirling to Glasgow service, as well as the C11 bus.Buchlyvie resident Val Brand - who has been a strong voice in protecting bus services across Stirling - has been left raging at the plans and said the planned cuts could have a massive impact on people looking to get in and out of the city for work and appointments.She believes the Option C plans would affect those without transport in accessing employment, banking and food shopping - as well as reducing the opportunity for rural residents to visit GP surgeries in other villages such as Killearn or clinics in Falkirk or Stirling.Val also claims the X10 Balfron Sunday service - another of the buses under