An action page has been set up on Facebook by residents in Cumnock and surrounding towns on the route after the X76 direct bus link to Glasgow was axed and replaced with whats claimed to be a less reliable 76/50 service.
The action page are concerned that with people having to change at kilmarnock from the new 76/50 Service that people are now being made late for work due to the change at Kilmarnock rather than the previous straight through direct service to Glasgow from Cumnock.
The action group called "Bring back the X76" are concerned that cutting this service means people who work in Glasgow will be late or have to leave at 6am to arrive for 9am!
Below is a statement from the group regarding the cuts...
"The decision to cut the X76 direct to Glasgow is a devastating blow to folk living along the length of the Cumnock to Kilmarnock bus route, and greatly limits the ability for hardworking folk in our local communities to get to high quality jobs in Glasgow. The reality is that this cut has literally cut people off from Glasgow. It is now, almost, impossible to arrive at Glasgow before 9am unless you leave Cumnock at 6am. The journey back is just as bad, with people finishing after 5pm not able to make it back to Cumnock until after 7:30pm! If that is not bad enough, we have Stagecoach engaging in their own form of Fake News, posing for selfies with Councillors on fancy new Kilmarnock/Glasgow buses, probably funded by the “savings” made by these cuts, while throwing about dodgy statistics aimed at justifying their choice. We took our own poll of the 7.15 bus, and consistently over 60% of passengers on the 76 transfer to the X76. This is twelve times higher than the 5% Stagecoach are claiming! They are at it! We don’t believe they should get away with it and he community are totally behind this campaign, with over 900 people voting yes to Bring Back the X76 in the 3 days that the poll has been open "
Stagecoach issued the following information via the website on why the X76 service was replaced with single decker buses to make journeys easier on less able people traveling beyond Kilmarnock to Cumnock and exlaining why a new 76/50 service was introduced.
Following on from recent information shared with our customers regarding changes to X76 services between Cumnock and Glasgow we would like to confirm the following information:
Stagecoach West Scotland continually monitor services to ensure that the appropriate level of resource and vehicles are operating. In December 2016 we introduced a fleet of new coaches to operate on the X76 service between Cumnock and Glasgow.
During the first year of service we continually analysed the volume of customers travelling to and from Glasgow from Cumnock. We noted that less than 5.8% of all customer journeys on the X76 started at any point before Kilmarnock towards Glasgow and ended at any point after Kilmarnock from Glasgow. This means less than 1 in 17 of our customers use the X76 to travel from South of Kilmarnock towards Glasgow Road, Kilmarnock or onward to Glasgow.
We’ve also received continued feedback from customers who use the X76 to travel wholly within the Kilmarnock to Cumnock corridor, those including those using the service for shorter journeys, that the coach is not always practical for them, particularly for those with mobility issues, wheelchair users, those with push-chairs and shoppers and that a low floor service bus would be more suitable for the majority of customers.
We will continue to offer through tickets to customers travelling between Cumnock and Glasgow to ensure that customers are not paying more for the service, however from 12th August 2018 those wishing to travel from South of Kilmarnock to North of Kilmarnock and vice versa will have to change bus at Kilmarnock Bus Station.
There will be a new service 76 and 50 operating between Murkirk, Lugar, Logan, New Cumnock, Cumnock, Auchinleck, Backrogerton, Catrine, Sorn, Mauchline, Crosshands, Crossroads, Hulford, Crookedholm and London Road, Culzean Crescent including Kilmarnock College and Bus Station from 12th August 2018 onwards for customers travelling to and from Kilmarnock.
This change will better meet the needs of the majority of our customers, in line with feedback and recorded customer journeys and it will allow us to continue to provide a 30 minute frequency between Cumnock and Kilmarnock during the day.
We will continue to ensure that our customers are updated with the above information.
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