News / Poor turnout welcomed
TRANSPORT officers in Shetland say the extremely low turn out for a major public consultation exercise is a sign they have done a good job.
This week Shetland transport partnership ZetTrans launched a series of 14 public sessions for people to respond to a redesigned bus network, drawn up after two years of discussions with local communities.
ZetTrans are hoping the new design will achieve the twin aim of enhancing the service with rescheduled timetables, while cutting £250,000 from the £4.1 million budget for school and public transport buses.
Speaking from Whalsay’s Isbister public hall on Thursday, transport planning executive manager Michael Craigie said the maximum number of people attending any of the four hour sessions held since Monday had been five.
“In the past we have had quite high turnouts, which perhaps was a reflection that folk were not satisfied,” he said. “Now a low attendance suggests we may have got it right.”
Craigie said the feedback they had received from community councils to the new proposals had been generally positive, adding to his confidence.
Now the big question, he says, is whether the new timetables are affordable at a time of across the board cuts to council spending.
The executive manager said he would be holding talks with bus operators over the next few weeks, and urged them to put in “responsible” bids when they tender for contracts in November. “We need the industry to recognise they are part of the solution,” he said.
Details of the bus service consultation can be found here.
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