Falkirk travel: Update on First Bus timetable as elderly in Stenhousemuir feel 'marooned'

Bus passengers in the Antonshill area were left with only one early morning bus to take them to the town centres in Stenhousemuir and Falkirk.

First Bus introduced a timetable change across the region on January 10 which reduced a lot of services and which they said was due to a shortage of drivers because of Covid.

One of the routes affected was serviced by the No.7 bus which goes from Falkirk town centre to Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert and goes through Antonshill.

The only bus left running on that route was at 6.50am with the bus company saying it was in addition to a Sunday service.

However, there is no Sunday service on this route so from Monday to Saturday there was no bus apart from the early morning one.

Many of those relying on the service are elderly and rely on public transport.

One 82-year-old said that he had been shocked to discover there was no daytime service, meaning he and many of his neighbours had no public transport to go shopping.

He added they were “marooned” in their homes and while some were fit enough for the 20 minute walk to shops in Stenhousemuir, many others were not.

Despite contacting the Larbert bus depot several times to try to talk to someone about the issue and being promised someone would be in touch, he had heard nothing from First.

But yesterday the bus company said there would be an improved service from next week.

A First Bus spokesperson said: “From February 7, services in the Falkirk area, operated by our Larbert depot will return to their pre-Christmas timetables with selected services operating amended timetables.

“We can confirm services 6, 7 and 8 will be returning to their full pre-Christmas timetables as part of these updates.

“We are continuing to do everything we can to minimise disruption to services caused by driver shortages. We would like to apologise to all customers who have been affected by the temporary changes.”

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