Bus service contracts on community council agenda

A bus on the South Mainland service. Photo: SIC

Bus service contracts will be discussed by Lerwick Community Council next week, less than a year to go before they expire.

The SIC transport contracts officer Elaine Park has requested time at the meeting to discuss the public bus service. 

Ms Park said community engagement would be useful towards developing a business case ahead of contracts coming up for renewal.

In a letter to the Lerwick Community Council, requesting time to discuss the situation, she said there had been a “significant shift” in the way bus services have been used in recent years, Ms Park said.

A major part of the change in the service’s demands has been the free bus travel for under 22-year-olds.

“It is therefore extremely important that we engage with as much of the community as possible in identifying the issues being experienced by those who do and do not use services currently and the opportunities available, ahead of the design of the next set of services,” she said.

Community councillors will be given an information pack at the meeting which will explain the current usage in the town and how the public can give its views.