Stagecoach are proposing to review their timetables in April. To help inform their scheduling, the community undertook a short survey of bus users, passing the results to the company and local councillors.
Below are the main survey findings and a copy of the letter sent to our local councillors. If you have any comments please contact Ged Church or through the contact form on the web site.
Survey Results
February 2011 – Kirkhill & Bunchrew Community Trust – Bus user needs survey
Surveys were carried out at the Kirkhill bus stop, the village market, by e.mail, on the school bus and through the primary school note home. Copies were also put into Bunchrew Caravan site and passed to friends and family by individuals. The survey was done quickly due to time constraints and does not give a full picture of our community’s needs
Summary of findings 64 responses received – 59 forms returned & 5 e-mail responses
Weekdays
35 respondents wanted an increase in the service frequency
Of these
1 2 requested a general increase in frequency.
19 requested a service that would leave Kirkhill in time to reach Inverness by around 9.45 a.m. (in time for a 10.00 work start).
8 requested a service leaving Inverness in the mid afternoon ( around 3.00pm )
7 requested a greater frequency of evening services. There were 3 requests for a 10pm bus from Inverness.
Saturdays
23 requested a general increase in frequency.
Of these
6 requested more late/evening services from Inverness.
3 each requested 8.00pm & 10pm additional service from Inverness
3 each requested half hourly & hourly services.
2 requested a 9.00am ( approx ) from Kirkhill – Inverness
Sundays
30 respondents wanted an increase in the service frequency
Of these
25 requested a more frequent service to Inverness
18 requested a more frequent service from Inverness to Kirkhill/Beauly
17 requested earlier buses mostly to Inverness but 3 to Beauly/Dingwall
16 requested later buses returning from Inverness.
Dear Councillors
Bus Survey February 2011
In the Christmas issue of Crannog ( the Kirkhill & Bunchrew newsletter ) the Community Council invited comments from bus users concerning the 28/28A service. This was followed up when Alastair Goodall of Stagecoach was invited to the January meeting of the Community Council where he listened and responded to the comments.
It transpired that Stagecoach were revising their schedules in April. As it appeared that only one regular bus user had attended the above CC meeting, the Community Trust decided to assist in carrying out a quick survey to obtain a better picture of what local bus users wanted.
We only had a couple of weeks to do this and get the results to Stagecoach, so a general survey relating to times and frequency was quickly prepared. Surveys were carried out at the Kirkhill bus stop, the village market, by e.mail, on the school bus and through the primary school note home. Copies were also put into Bunchrew Caravan site and passed to friends and family by individuals.
To date 64 responses have been received a great response considering the time constraints. A copy of an analysis of the results is enclosed but the main demands are indicated below
- Increase in number of services
- Additional morning service to Inverness during working week from Kirkhill around 9.00am to reach Inverness by no later than 9.50am (19).
- An early Sunday service to reach before 10.00am Inverness (14). Generally better service in both directions on Sundays
- Better evening services
- An additional mid-afternoon service Weekdays
The 28/28a service has long been over-priced but it seems that Stagecoach are about to revise the pricing to a permanently lower rate. This is good news as there appears to be increasing demand for the bus service in our community. While Mr. Goodall has been most cooperative in looking at these demands we hope that you can support us in ensuring that Stagecoach provide a generally improved service in the community. 12 respondents complained about the unreliability of the service. This has become very poor recently to the extent that users have little confidence that the bus will arrive timeously or , indeed at all.