David Keith

Faced with the " nightmare" of losing its Local Bus service, residents of a Perthshire village decided to take over the route themselves.

The 55 Glenfarg to Kinross service was axed earlier this year after its operators Earnside Coaches retired.

But thanks to a group of volunteers and the recruitment of three full-time drivers, The Service is back and proving more popular than ever.

It now runs an hourly daily service Six Days a week, starting at 07:10.

Glenfarg Community Transport Group said the 55 service now enjoys about 300 passenger journeys per week, an increase of 200 on Last Year .

Group chairman Drew Smart said: " Behind those 300 journeys every week, there are 300 stories.

" It's a great bus to be on, the banter, The Number of problems we solve or try to solve.

" It's not about buses, it's really about people. "

Drew said running The Service themselves gives the route a flexibility it did not have in The Past .

He Said : " We've got a few people, because of mobility issues, we don't expect them to come to the Bus Stop , we'll come into The Village and pick them up at The Door .

" When we get into Kinross we'll drop them at The Door of where they're going.

" The drivers are brilliant, they go well above and beyond. "

One of The Passengers , Kareen Macgregor, agrees.

She Said : " I don't drive so it was A Nightmare before. We needed The Service . It's great, everybody loves it. "

David Keith , one of the full-time drivers, said The Passenger numbers have " blown expectations out of the water. "

He Said : " We have our regulars, but we see more and more people coming on who have never used The Service before.

" I love coming into my work and meeting The People , numerous people in The Village say it's transformed their lives. "

The buses run from 07:10 until about 18:00, with The First service connecting to the Ember bus at Kinross Park and Ride.

Fellow driver Geoff Christie said: " People from The Village that work in Edinburgh, Dundee or Perth, they can get to their work by 09:00.

" We've listened to The Villagers and we've put that service on.

" Kinross is also really bad for taxis, so we're providing another service that get people backward and forward - it's provided a social element to a small village. "

Funding for The Service comes largely from Perth and Kinross Council, with additional backers including the Smarter Choices Smarter Places charity fund.

Douglas Fraser , treasurer community bus group: " We also liaised with Glasgow Community Transport who have been a big help to us as well.

" It is a daunting prospect, but if you've got a group of people who are dedicated and can see the benefit in the Long Run , it's well worth doing. "

In addition to the 55 service, 15 volunteer drivers operate the community bus that takes local people to social events and outings.

Douglas said: " That's huge, given we only started Nine Months ago. We've got a lot of enthusiastic people. "

Drew Smart said The Group now had ambitions to expand its service.

He Said : " We do a really good service down to Kinross, and we could really benefit in The Village from having a similar service to Perth.

" The Perth service during The Day is very limited, we could make life a lot easier for people by extending The Service in The Opposite direction. "

A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson said: " We Are pleased that by supporting Glenfarg Community Transport Group, it has empowered them to operate community-led Public Transport solutions in their area.

" The success, to date, of their Service 55 and other Public Transport offers, has highlighted the vital role that Community Transport fulfils in delivering a sustainable transport alternative to The Car . "

Source of news: bbc.com