Tayside and Fife bus passenger fury at latest raft of ‘technical issues’

Furious bus passengers have hit out at the latest raft of Stagecoach bus cancellations in Tayside in Fife due to “technical” issues or faults.

About 200 buses on more than 30 routes have either failed to operate or had their journeys cut short so far this month due to “technical” problems, according to posts by the operator on social media.

At least 10 services were affected on Friday morning alone, with Stagecoach apologising to passengers in a series of posts on X.

Stagecoach accused of ‘letting people down’ over bus cancellations

Responding to the cancellations, one passenger said: “Xplore in Dundee don’t seem to have the same ‘technical issues’.

“You are letting people down who have hospital appointments.”

Another said: “Beyond ridiculous now. You are providing no service.”

One other passenger wrote: “And so the cancellations continue.

“Can never rely on your timetables to service the public who want to get from A to B as advertised.”

After being accused of playing “technical issues bingo” with passengers earlier this year, Stagecoach blamed inclement weather for causing many of the problems.

However, it has never provided a clear definition of what a “technical issue” is.

Stagecoach says it completes nearly 24,000 journeys in the region every week and “operates over 99% of the mileage” it is scheduled to.

Stagecoach says mechanical faults, punctures and door problems to blame for ‘technical’ issues

A spokesperson said: “The number of journeys we’re unable to operate is small but we understand this is of no comfort to customers impacted by non-running journeys.

“Although we are fully staffed, and have been for over 12 months, our vehicles can experience technical issues, which may be a mechanical fault, puncture, an issue with the doors etc.

“Often, one vehicle suffering a fault can affect multiple journeys, and although replacement vehicles are provided in the vast majority of cases, there can be a delay in getting them to where they need to be, causing services to be cancelled or delayed.”

The spokesperson added: “We’re investing heavily in vehicles to further improve our reliability, with over 47 brand new vehicles across the region this year and an additional 46 over the next two years.

“This is as well as investment in the current fleet, our engineering teams and apprentice programmes.”

It comes as the operator has been forced to apologise for leaving passengers stranded at bus stops on two routes in recent weeks, including on the 39 between Dundee and Perth, and the 73 Ninewells Hospital route.

Broughty Ferry councillor Craig Duncan says he has heard concerns from residents about the reliability of the 73.

He raised it with the city council’s leader for parking and sustainable transport, who told Mr Duncan: “I discussed this matter with the director of (charity and campaigns group) Bus Users Scotland and he plans to deploy one of his team to monitor service 73 reliability in the next few months.

“They will produce a report for Stagecoach with their findings.”