Seil Chat

Longshanks, I continue to admire your humour!

Just seen the new board...great idea! We could well be hastening the cutting of the bus service if even less people use it though. I'll certainly offer lifts when I go to Oban..just trying to remember if I've offended anyone on here as we'll lose 'anonimity' [wimp!]

Foxglove wrote:Just seen the new board...great idea! We could well be hastening the cutting of the bus service if even less people use it though. I'll certainly offer lifts when I go to Oban..just trying to remember if I've offended anyone on here as we'll lose 'anonimity' [wimp!]

You can remain anonymous in public and communicate with other forumites by PM if you prefer.

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This subject was apparently discussed at some length at the May community council meeting. The minutes are now on Seil Island Online HERE.

(Item 5, page 4)

Here is a different slant on the whole caboodle.
Many is the time I have been travelling into Oban by car, and have seen other members of the community patiently waiting for the bus.
Now, my immediate Christian, public spirited reaction to this situation, is to stop and offer them a lift.
But the secondary reaction to this is - If I do this, then the bus will be deprived of passengers, and will find it uneconomic to offer the service, and withdraw it (current situation).
This is a catch 22 situation - either - as a car owner - be completely ruthless in not helping out one's fellow travelllers in order to fill the buses, or do the public spirited bit and make sure that no-one needs to rely on a bus service at all.
If it was not for the subsidies that the bus company receive to provide school transport it is probable that the only buses we would see on the island are the tour buses headed for Ellenabeich and the open top one (which must surely be under pressure given the numbers normally aboard).
The Volunteer Car Scheme provides a very useful service for the occasional traveller who can afford it, but for the regular commuter, holding down a job in Oban, the cost would be prohibitive, and, if the bus service is curtailed then surely car (and expense)-sharing is the way forward - it could become a way of life.

Totally agree with you jimcee..I've done the same myself, offered lifts to save people the busfare..probably to the detriment of the service. It would be hard to pass someone walking in the rain however. On reflection, a concerted effort to be 'kind' to folk and offer lifts will fill the gaps left by the reduced service. Just stand at the bus stop and I bet someone would oblige?

The Volunteer Car Scheme provides a very useful service for the occasional traveller who can afford it, but for the regular commuter, holding down a job in Oban, the cost would be prohibitive

At the risk of making poor Nick B yawn again, Jimcee, this is just a minor correction. The voluntary car scheme is not intended to help the occasional general traveller but is aimed at helping the needy and unfirm to travel to medical appointments and/or enjoy a degree of social inclusion, primarily coordinated through the local medical support system, and passengers are not required to pay anything at all. They may make donations at a guidance level of 25p per mile up to £6 for a return trip to Oban. It's hardly a prohibitive contribution, indeed anyone can afford it, it's not for regular working commuters, and, yes, it's a very useful service. Don't knock it!!

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The details of the car scheme - as laid out by the co-ordinator - are not mysterious or only known to Mona, they are public. They can be seen HERE. As it says on the web page, the car scheme co-ordinator is always keen to hear from anyone who feels they could make use of the service or who could offer their services as a volunteer driver. It is up to the co-ordinator to decide who is eligible to use the scheme.

As for commuting - loads of commuters go into Oban every day to work, returning each evening. Often they travel in a car with one or maybe two people in it. I am sure lots of these people would be happy to offer a lift. Most insurance policies cover car sharing nowadays, but if you are sharing petrol costs it would be prudent to just give your insurer a ring to check first. There are several ways you could get involved in car sharing. Posting on this forum is one way, advertising in the shop window is another.

If the bus times - current or proposed - are not suitable then getting involved in car sharing is not depriving West Coast Motors of any revenue, and in any case that is not the issue. Neither is it threatening the Car Scheme, as it is not designed for commuters. Car sharing and offering lifts means helping each other out and making more efficient use of private cars, neither of which can possibly be seen as a bad thing - unless of course you are determined to see the worst in everything.

unless of course you are determined to see the worst in everything.

If you were referring to me, Nick, the clue's in the name!

From the August Seilachan :

BUS 418 SERVICE
After our submission about ther proposed
cuts to our 418 service we have received a reply
from Douglas Blades, Public Transport Officer for
Argyll & Bute, and an acknowledgement from our
MP Alan Reid. We did not receive any reply from
our MSP’s Mike Russell and Mike MacKenzie.

Does it come as any surprise that Mr MacKenzie did not reply, since when has he had any time for his local community.