A Kinross-shire community has banded together to launch a weekly bus service to help rural and elderly residents get out and about.
The volunteer-led scheme by charity Glenfarg Community Transport Group hopes to help fill the gap of dwindling rural bus services in the area.
The new free service has been 18 months in the making, welcoming its first passenger on board at Kinross Park and Ride on Thursday.
The bus will now run every Thursday through the back roads from the village to Glenfarg Community Centre, making stops along the way.
It comes after Stagecoach recently axed the 56 service which followed a similar route.
Group treasurer Douglas Fraser, also chair of Glenfarg Community Council, said: “We took an interest in the lack of public transport in the village of Glenfarg due to the withdrawal of one of our bus services from Stagecoach because it was underutilised. It has been a concern of ours because in our village there are a lot of older people and from time to time they get their licences withdrawn through ill health or whatever else.
“It leaves them stranded if they do not have a bus service.
“So about a year-and-a-half ago I looked into starting our own community bus and in that time we have now developed a process and are now a charitable status and have nine volunteer drivers.
“We are hoping to bring people that don’t have transport into the village to join up with the coffee lounge and do a bit of socialising and get a bit of warmth.
“Then we will sit for an hour or so and drop people back on the same route.
“It is also giving people the chance to get to the library and the shops in Kinross.”
The group has raised £10,000 so far to buy its own 16-seater bus, thanks to grants from Perth and Kinross Council and the Robertson Trust as well as help from the local community.
Members are exploring other funding avenues such as the National Lottery and The Gannochy Trust in order
to reach their £30,000 target by mid-2023.
In the meantime, the local authority has loaned the group a 16-seater minibus which was sitting idle at Kinross Community Campus.
The service will coincide with the 55 bus service between Kinross and Glenfarg, set up by the council and contracted by Earnside Coaches on the back of the 56 being withdrawn.
“It is going to be free of charge initially,” Douglas added.
“Then when we have our own bus we will be able to look at other options such as running buses to Perth, maybe if there is a concert people want to go to.
“Maybe organise trips to IKEA over at Loanhead in Edinburgh as a community thing.
“If we can get 10 volunteers then maybe we can run two events each week which would be fantastic.
“This is a first for all of us and we have had a fantastic amount of support.”
A Stagecoach spokesperson said: “We are aware of this initiative, which will allow customers to make onward connections to Stagecoach services into Perth.
“We will be providing support to the group to help them get out on the road.”
More information will be available at Glenfarg.org including timetables and service updates.
