A new study has suggested bus services in Aberdeen are among the most expensive and unreliable in Scotland.
The survey, by Citizen’s Advice Scotland, asked more than 4,600 people across the country what they thought about bus cleanliness, fares, coverage and more.
Of the 230 people who took part in the study in Aberdeen, 79% said they were generally dissatisfied with service punctuality, compared to the national average of 56%.
And when asked about value for money, 84% of Aberdonians thought ticket prices were too costly – compared to a national average of 58%.
In Aberdeenshire, where bus services travel to more rural areas, 78% of the 151 surveyed thought services are not frequent enough.
The average across Scotland for service frequency dissatisfaction was 64%.
Derek Mitchell, the chief executive of CAS, said: “People deserve a bus service that is reliable, affordable and pleasant to use, yet it is clear from this research that Scotland’s buses often fail to meet these standards.
“We undertook this survey because we wanted to give consumers a voice.
“Having gathered this data, CAS will now be meeting with bus companies, local authorities and the Scottish Government to find ways of addressing these issues.
“Our objective here is to create better journeys for the people who rely on bus services.”
Andrew Jarvis, the managing director of First Aberdeen said: “First Aberdeen welcome this report and how it raises a number of important issues.
“Buses are a vital part of the economy of Aberdeen particularly for accessing work, education and shopping.
“However, I am surprised that these results are so out of line with the regular independent survey carried out by Transport Focus, which have generally shown satisfaction rates in the high 80% region.
“The CAS report does demonstrate, to some extent, what is working well and where we are delivering for customers, but also highlights what areas that all those responsible for delivering effective bus services need to focus on.
“First Aberdeen have a number of exciting and innovative improvements to roll out over the next year, which place our customers at the heart of the business.
“We’re looking forward to future results confident that our customer-focused plans will deliver a better travelling experience.”
A spokeswoman for Stagecoach said: “Improving bus services is the joint responsibility of local, regional and national authorities and bus operators.
“These results are out of step with the official independent survey carried out by Transport Focus which in the past have shown satisfaction levels of around 90% among bus passengers in Scotland.
“There is no question that worsening car congestion is having a severe impact on bus customers in many towns and cities – this pushes up operating costs and therefore fares for our customers, slows down journeys, damages air quality and is bad for the local economy.
“Cuts in public sector investment in bus services have impacted local bus networks and the weak economy has affected people’s trips into town and city centres.
“We continue to discuss with the local authorities and regional transport authorities opportunities to improve journey times for our services operating throughout Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.
“We’ve made huge investments in improvements including £10million in new vehicles for customers in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire in the past three years, new ticketing methods and improved customer information.
“Local improvements such as our Jet 727 Aberdeen Airport service have been recognised through winning the title of Best Bus Service in Scotland at the 2017 Regional Transport Awards.
“We realise there is more work to be done and we have a number of other projects being worked on.
“We will review the survey results in detail to ensure we continue to deliver better bus networks for local people.”
