Aberdeen City Council has said all the passengers who were left stranded at the city’s bus station after journeys were cancelled due to Storm Arwen have either found accommodation or an alternative means of transport.
People who had been waiting at the station, which is attached to the Union Square shopping centre, included two young girls hoping to get back to Edinburgh and a man who had been planning to travel to Glasgow.
However, the small crowd there also included some locals who had heard of the situation and wanted to help out.
Stagecoach announced this evening that none of its services across the north-east would be running until 8am tomorrow, amid fears the stormy weather could continue into the night.
❌All services suspended❌
All services across Aberdeen city, Aberdeenshire and Moray are now suspended until 0800hrs on Saturday 27th November. Further updates will be provided in the morning. @Aberdeenshire @AberdeenCC @MorayCouncil @originalfm @northsound1 pic.twitter.com/HGidDpEMtU— Stagecoach Bluebird (@StagecoachBBird) November 26, 2021
Claire Forrest had been trying to get back to Banchory since 4.45pm, and was still at the bus station at 9pm.
She said: “My friend is coming to pick us up, coming from Banchory.
“He was going to come and pick us up at Westhill, but we just got on the Westhill bus and then we had to turn back because there was a tree blown down at Albyn Hospital.”
She hoped to get back in another hour, but said the draughts in the station were making the wait cold.
Cancellations
Sean Emerson, who lives in Aberdeen and was planning to visit his brother in Glasgow, had been waiting at the bus station for two and a half hours.
He said: “I went to get the train, but the train got cancelled so I went here to get the Megabus, but it’s an hour late now.”
If the situation wasn’t resolved in 20 minutes, he said he would give up and go home.
A tweet sent from the Aberdeen City Council account earlier this evening said: “Any spare taxi drivers are requested to go to the bus station as there are passengers stranded.
“People should be aware there are no more buses leaving from the bus station tonight.”
The local authority later followed the tweet up, saying: “A big thanks to the taxi drivers who helped out (and the kind offers from other folk too) for the people stranded at the bus station.
“They are either on their way home, got accommodation, and we have assisted with accommodation too.”