Anger as Moffat early morning buses pulled

NEW timetables for Moffat’s X74 bus service have been published, but early morning commuters are not happy.

As of Thursday 7 August, the 74 Dumfries to Glasgow via Moffat service is being withdrawn, while Stagecoach West Scotland will be introducing additional X74 services on the route.

In addition, timetable adjustments have been made to the X74 and 101 services to ensure students can get to Barony College on weekday mornings . . . albeit not before 9 am.

In fact, the new timetables show that the earliest X74 bus leaving Moffat heading towards Dumfries will depart Moffat High Street at 9 am on weekdays, while the earliest 101 service will leave at 11.50 am.

Previously, the 74 service would depart at 7.40 am.

The gap in the new timetable has caused alarm amongst commuters, parents and students who have taken to social media to make their upset known. One resident said: “I will ultimately lose my job if I can’t get to Dumfries in the morning.”

Another wrote: “I’ve emailed councillors and MPS as my daughter won’t be able to get to school in Dumfries on time.

“Of all the bus times to remove, that one is the most needed, it makes no sense at all!”

Cllr Stephen Thompson, leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council, said: “Some changes have been made to subsidised routes to get best value for the public purse. In a small number of cases, services with consistently low passenger numbers have been withdrawn or redesigned.

“The new network is built on longer-term contracts. This provides greater certainty for both passengers and operators, encouraging future investment in vehicles and service quality.

“Looking ahead, although ensuring continuity has been the immediate priority, the new network structure is designed to be more adaptive. As operators gather data and learn more about passenger demand on their new routes, there may be future opportunities to enhance services and increase frequencies where needed.”

The new timetables can be found at: www.dumfriesandgalloway.gov.uk/timetables.