N46/N47 Timetable Change Statement

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝟰𝟲/𝗡𝟰𝟳 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

Further to the announcement of changes to the above local bus services we have noted the feedback to date and felt it necessary to respond based upon some incorrect assumptions offered.

Shiel Buses remains a family business that is committed to providing a quality service to its customers and that includes offering accurate information.

Firstly, Shiel Buses run the services N46 and N47 on behalf of Highland Council through a tendered procurement process. Put simply, any changes to the timetable are made by The Highland Council and, whilst we discuss our experiences, the authority to change anything remains with The Highland Council.

Please be assured that these changes have been reached after careful consideration of the options available to us. Additional resources are needed to maintain the current offering, but we are aware that there is no funding available to achieve this. Therefore, to maintain the reliability of the timetable, frequencies on sections of the route have been reduced. These areas of reduced frequencies have been identified based upon passenger usage.

Residents will be aware that the current journeys are subject to extensive delays due to congestion whilst travelling around the town so it is necessary to make provision for these types of ongoing delays to provide greater certainty of the times that our buses will operate.

We fully appreciate that these changes can have an impact on sections of our customer base and we would request that any feedback relating to this should be directed to public.transport@highland.gov.uk.