No show X74!

Campaigner claims bus was cancelled 41 times inside THREE weeks

"APPALLING" figures about the reliability of the X74 bus service have been shared this week.
Community councillor and bus campaigner Donald Kerner has been accumulating data on the stagecoach service which links Dumfries, Moffat and Glasgow.
This week he shared his findings with the community stating: "Between June 28 and July 15, there has been 41 cancellations along the route in total. There has also been at least 6 vehicle breakdowns, with the majority happening near Lesmahagow. Because of this, one vehicle, has been written off in its entirety.
I have made a formal complaint to the DVSA to hopefully forward it to the Traffic Commissioner. Especially since they're meant to have a 'reliability of 95 per cent'.
"The worst affected bus service is the 16:45 leaving Dumfries, which has faced five cancellations within the June 28 to July 15 period.
"There have also been severe delays; with the week of July 6th - 12th having more than 10 per cent of all journeys being delayed by more than 35 minutes; meaning more journeys arrived severely late than they did on time."
Questions and concerns about the service have rumbling along for months but the emergence of the data has struck a nerve with residents, with some taking to social media to share their outrage.
Katrina McColm commented: "The service is appalling! There is also the changes to the route the bus takes on many occasions it has not serviced Locharbriggs, Amisfield etc. due to road closures and drivers deciding they just won’t use the diversion in place. I complained on multiple occasions."
Fellow bus user Neil MacPherson said: "Cancellations etc would be easier to deal with if the Stagecoach app actually showed real time information.
"This would allow passengers to make decisions about their travel - rather than sitting waiting for 80 minutes in Moffat last Wednesday before having to get a family member to come to collect me."
Meanwhile South of Scotland Green MSP Laura Moodie is chasing up the issue at Holyrood.
She added: "I've followed up my previous letters today with a new letter to the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland and to Stagecoach. I met with the Cabinet Secretary Stephen Flynn last week, alongside Craig Hoy, as well as Swestrans to reiterate concerns about the route. As a commercial inter-urban service, the licence to operate and complaints about the X74 are decided by the Traffic Commissioner which is a reserved office, appointed by the UK Government."
In response to criticism, Stagecoach confirmed they are a conducting  thorough investigation of the service and held their hands up saying the service hasn't been up to standards.
A spokesperson said: “We recognise that the performance of the X74 service between Dumfries and Glasgow has not been at the standard we expect, and we apologise for the impact this has had on our customers.
“Our teams are actively working to improve service delivery, including a focus on vehicle availability, engineering support and providing customers with accurate and timely travel information.
“We have received the data shared with us by a local MSP and are currently carrying out a detailed review.
"An initial high-level check has identified some anomalies, and the figures do not fully align with the comprehensive electronic operational data we hold across all journeys, including the X74.
"We will take the necessary time to complete a thorough review and respond directly to the MSP.
“In the meantime, our operations and engineering teams remain focused on improving reliability and ensuring we deliver the service standards our customers rightly expect.
"We appreciate how important this connection is for communities along the route and remain committed to making improvements.”