Trial run for young people’s suggestion

Young People staying on in Tain after school for clubs and activities will be able to get home earlier thanks to a new bus service being piloted by Stagecoach in response to a suggestion from the Tain Youth Forum.

The new 20:40 bus service will begin on Monday 17th May and run Monday to Friday, initially for 7 weeks, until the school summer holidays start (ending Friday 2nd July).

Duncan Collard and Amy McAngus both members of the Tain Youth Forum, explained that the suggestion was made in response to complaints from local young people who were fed up not being able to get home until late.

“The only bus from Tain out to the villages in the evening was at 10.40pm which meant you weren’t getting home until really late so we hope this extra bus will be well supported, the Youth Forum will be promoting it on facebook,” he said.

Rob Parkes, the Youth Development Officer for the Tain & Easter Ross Ward said feedback from parents was that they weren’t happy for their kids to be arriving home so late on a school night.  This bus will hopefully prove to be what is needed, because if it is well used in the pilot 7 weeks we will hopefully get to keep the service.”

Graham Nutt from the Tain Youth Café also welcomed the new service.

Duncan and Rob made the suggestion as part of a focus group set up following a Ward Forum focusing on bus travel last summer.  The focus group had representatives from local Community Councils, the Tain Youth Forum, The Highland Council and Stagecoach looking at bus timetable improvements for the area.

The new 25x bus service stops are as follows:
Tain Scotsburn Road 20:42; Tain Co-op 20:47; Tain Lamington Street 20:50; Tain Mansfield Estate 20:57; Hill of Fearn 21:07; Hilton 21:14; Balintore 21:16; Shandwick 21:18.

Ends