An Aberdeen bus company has been slated by locals after announcing proposals to axe a busy city route.
First Aberdeen revealed on Friday that it plans to withdraw the number 8 service, which serves Dubford, Danestone, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Tillydrone, Aberdeen University and the city centre.
The 117 service, which connects the city centre to the Wellheads and Kirkhill industrial estates, is also facing the axe.
Under the plans, frequency on the number 11, 17, 18 and X27 services will be reduced, with the number 18 no longer serving Danestone and Tillydrone.
The number 18 service also connects Charleston, Kincorth and Cove with Dyce and Danestone.
First Aberdeen cited rising costs among the reasons for the proposed changes.
Chairman of Danestone Community Council, Derek Davidson said: “These routes serve a lot of people, and there are an awful lot of people who are upset about it.
“To withdraw these buses just before the start of winter will hit people hard, including those who are going to the hospital.
“And it’s a very short time to give people to air their views.”
Kincorth, Nigg and Cove councillors Stephen Flynn and Alex Nicoll expressed their dismay over the proposed changes, which would leave the Charleston and Altens areas served only at peak times.
And it would leave Kincorth and Cove – which share a secondary school and a doctor’s surgery – almost entirely detached.
Mr Flynn said: “To almost entirely lose any bus service from Cove to Kincorth is not on.
“Many local folk rely on the connection between the two communities and to simply remove it with no alternative in place is incomprehensible.”
He added: “Both Councillor Nicoll and I will be making our views known to First Bus and we would encourage all of our constituents to do likewise.”
Managing Director of First Aberdeen, Andrew Jarvis, said: “Due a combination of recent customer feedback and rising costs of operation, we have taken the opportunity to review our network and how we serve the people of Aberdeen.
“We are striving to make things better for the customer by making bus travel simple, speeding up bus boarding times, reducing journey times wherever possible, and using data to make better operational decisions.”
To give your feedback on the changes, visit: www.firstgroup.com/aberdeen/first-aberdeen-network-proposals-october-27th-2019.
Dyce, Bucksburn and Danestone Councillor Gill Al-Samarai added: “I have fed into the consultation following many emails from constituents regarding the routes 1, 8 and 18 and would encourage others to do the same as these services are used by a wide and diverse number of individuals both of working age and retired.
“Ultimately, these proposals will be a step backwards for many of my constituents, forcing them to walk further to access bus services and this simply doesn’t align to our ambition of sustainable travel.”
