It is fair but regrettable to say that local bus services in Eastwood have been in decline over the past number of years and this is a very worrying ongoing situation.
I have raised serious concerns on many occasions about the reduction of bus service provision in Eaglesham with the key Polnoon Street and Montgomery Street legs removed from the 4A more than six years ago now.
The 4A was hit by further cuts in August 2021 with off-peak services from Monday to Saturday reduced from a frequency of two-per hour to just the one.
Bus operator, First Glasgow advised that the cuts were a temporary response measure because of difficulties experienced with the recruitment of drivers.
My major concern all along with the changes to the frequency of the 4A Eaglesham bus route was that whilst only implemented on a temporary basis, it could unintentionally become permanent.
As we get closer to the two-year anniversary since service provision on the 4A was significantly reduced, I am afraid it is difficult to reach any other conclusion than this change is now an unwelcome permanent state of affairs.
Should there be any prospect of reintroducing enhanced provision for the 4A, there really does need to be serious progress made at the earliest possible opportunity and to establish a new two-per hour Monday to Saturday off-peak service for Eaglesham.
The 404 bus route for Williamwood High School was a hugely valued service.
It was incredibly frustrating when this service was discontinued in the summer of 2020 and with a very negative impact on school transport for pupils.
However, I understand that the availability of bus service provision after the cancellation of the 404 has since been improved.
This is because First Glasgow altered the timings on another morning bus route and this has offered pupils a more accessible service for travelling to school.
Moreover, constituents have made representations to me in order to highlight concerns with the reliability of Service 38 in recent months.
This particular bus route has stops in both Newton Mearns and Giffnock.
At the turn of the year, First Glasgow made changes to the overall operation of the Service 38 network and with revised frequencies put in place.
First Bus have advised that this is also intended to be a temporary alteration and that so far, the changes have produced a situation where services are experiencing fewer problems than previously.
The core issue with the deterioration in local bus routes since Covid emerged is difficulties that have transpired with recruiting enough drivers to maintain services at previous levels.
First Bus have informed me that they are now making steady progress with the recruitment of drivers and of course, this is to be welcomed.
A new campaign that is running live on television until May has also strengthened the ongoing efforts to hire new drivers.
Many of my constituents depend upon both frequent and reliable local buses and I will continue to make the case for better service provision in Eastwood.