Stagecoach to cut 'lifeline' Highland bus route to hospital

Stagecoach has confirmed it will cut a bus service between Caithness and Inverness which stops at Raigmore hospital later this month.

The company said its X99 service between Inverness and Scrabster, which serves Thurso and Wick, will cease operating after Sunday 18 October.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach said the decision followed a sustained period of extremely low customer numbers and the withdrawal was expected to have "minimal impact" on the local community.

Highland Council recently announced it will be taking over the company's operations in Wick and Thurso but the local authority has also confirmed it will not operate the service.

The X99 bus service, which stops at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, is used by people in the far north to attend healthcare appointments.

Lib Dem MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, David Green, said he was "deeply concerned" about the loss of the service and has called on the Scottish government to reform the way regional transport is managed.

He said: "Getting one person who needs an appointment to go down to Raigmore on public transport is of incredible value to everyone who might need it.

"I credit Highland Council for stepping in but the reason we need that model change is because it's about a genuine lifeline link".

A spokesperson for Transport Scotland said: "Decisions on local bus services, routes and frequencies are for operators to make, but local authorities have a duty to identify where there is a social need for particular bus services and can choose to subsidise these."

Highland council-owned D&E Coaches recently confirmed the acquisition of Stagecoach's Thurso and Wick bus operations.

It said it would secure local jobs, protect vital services and strengthen public transport provision across the area.

D&E Coaches will take over operation of the business from 19 October, with all 26 Stagecoach employees transferring, resulting in no redundancies.