A resident from John O’Groats has written to the Duke of Rothesay following plans to abolish direct bus services to several villages in the north.
Mark Gibson, Secretary of the Dunnett and Canisbay Community Council, sent a letter to Prince Charles to bring to his attention the impact the proposal by transport operator Stagecoach will have on local residents and tourists in John O’Groats and Gills Bay.
Mr Gibson, 51, has also sent emails to every MP and MSP in the region, while his wife Carole Whittaker, also a community councillor for the area, sent a letter to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The number 77 currently retains connections with the Pentland Firth ferry crossings and John O’Groats however, following the proposed revision of the service the northbound journey will begin and end at Keiss, withdrawing direct services to the village.
Residents travelling to north east village will have to swap buses at Wick and travel to Castletown, more than 15 miles in the opposite direction, before catching the number 80 service to John O’Groats; adding more than 13 miles onto their journey.
Mr Gibson said: “I have written to just about everyone else. I just thought he ought to know. He is very involved with the Castle of Mey, which is not very far away from here and he is a big advocate to this part of the Mey Highland Games. No-one is going to be able to get transport to the Mey Games via Wick.
“We are extremely annoyed about the changes that are being proposed to the bus timetable; it makes no sense what so ever.
“This service is a lifeline for people. Not everyone is fortunate to have their own private transport to get to use basic facilities like getting to the dentist, the hospital and the bank.”
A spokeswoman for Stagecoach North Scotland said: “We understand the importance of local bus services within Caithness and Orkney. The reality is that we have duty to our employees and customers to operate a stable and sustainable business – in order to do this, while we operate a number of routes which do not generate a profit, overall our network must be financially sustainable over the long term.
“Unfortunately the Gills Bay section of Service 77 carried an average of less than one passenger per trip – most people would agree that this is simply not sustainable for any business. Therefore, unfortunately we had to make a change.”
A spokeswoman at Clarence House said the issue was not something Prince Charles could comment on at this time.
