Whitburn celebrate after bus service is reinstated

Oct 13 2011 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

THE people of Whitburn are celebrating after First Bus agreed to reinstate the scrapped X14 bus service.

The transport company took the decision to stop the service, which travelled from Bathgate to Glasgow, at the beginning of June, as it wasn’t commercially viable.

However, residents and politicians from all sides called on First Bus to think again, claiming the decision discriminated against older and vulnerable people living in Whitburn who were left with no bus service or train station.

And after a meeting with local politicians and concerned residents First Bus bosses have confirmed the service will be reinstated from December.

Whitburn’s MP, Michael Connarty, organised the meeting with senior management of First Bus at their headquarters in Larbert and was clearly delighted with the outcome.

“The scrapping of the bus service was a big blow to everyone in the community and there was a lot of disruption,” the Labour politician said.

“If you were going to work in Glasgow the extra time spent travelling added a lot on to your day.

“A representative was asked to speak at the meeting for the campaign group that had been set up to fight against the withdrawal of the service. She spoke very well on behalf of the community.

“We all got a good hearing and they have clearly listened and have now taken the right decision. It is a great result and we are very pleased with it.”

Community activist Terry Sims spoke on behalf of Whitburn residents at the meeting with First Bus.

She said: “It is great to hear it will be back on as it is a vital service for a lot of people.

“I used the service for travelling to work and my daughter used it for getting to college. But lots of people used it for shopping or going to visit relatives in Glasgow.

“We don’t have a train station in Whitburn so it meant having to find an alternative route into Glasgow. It meant a lot of disruption and a lot of longer journeys.

“It felt like we were cut off on our own. At the moment I am having to get a lift to Harthill every day to get a bus from there. But that is not feasible for all the elderly people who used to use the service.

“It was great to be able to put my point across at the meeting and I’m really happy they've listened and decided to put the service back on.”

A spokeswoman for First Bus confirmed the service would be running again from December 5 but said the number of people using it would be closely monitored and urged residents to use it so it remained commercially viable.

She added: “We can confirm that, from December 5, we will reinstate service X14 operating between Bathgate and Glasgow.

“Following a number of meetings between the company and local community groups, we have committed to re-launching the service.

“However, it will be closely monitored to ensure its commercial viability so we would urge customers to make use of the service when it recommences.”