'Ballingry bus services were an absolute nightmare'

Stagecoach have apologised for "any inconvenience and confusion" after struggling to navigate their services around the resurfacing works on the B920 Lochleven Road.

Fife Council closed the road from August 28 to September 8, the £108,000 of smoothing works were postponed earlier this year, and local councillor Mary Lockhart said it had caused disruption.

At the Cowdenbeath area committee, before the works were finished, she said: "The bus company appears to have been very confused about the routes it would have to use due to the closure of that road in various stages.

Not on the buses. Passengers endured an 'absolute nightmare' while a road in Ballingry was closed. (Image: Newsquest)

"I had constituents held up, I had pupils late for school and a doctor who didn't know which way to go but in terms of the buses it's been an absolute nightmare.

READ MORE: House plans on site of fire-hit scout hall are refused

"Sometimes people had to go to Lochgelly to catch a bus from Ballingry and then the bus hasn't turned up at all because the bus driver got lost!"

Cllr Lockhart continued: "There were lots of people complaining about it.

"At the very beginning of it I don't think the bus drivers knew where they were going and nobody knew where they were going or stopping.

"There's a bus stop across the road from me and one day there was an old lady there who had got a bus from Ballingry to Lochgelly in order to go to Kirkcaldy.

"The bus she was waiting for hadn't turned up, and neither had the one after it, so she'd already waited almost an hour."

A spokesperson for Stagecoach East Scotland said: "Information on diversions is communicated via our customer information channels, including our website, Twitter and posters on our buses, as well as being shared internally with operational staff.

"Notices are also placed at bus stops by the local authority in advance of road closures.

"In this instance we were advised at short notice of additional works, beyond the scope of our initial discussions with the local authority, which impacted our planned diversion route.

"All services in the area have now returned to normal, and we apologise for any inconvenience or confusion caused."

READ MORE: Class act as Ballingry school makes it easier for Lochgelly pupils

Cllr Lockhart later told the Times: "I'm glad the resurfacing work's been done as I've been complaining about that road now for seven and a half years.

"That's the length of time I've been a councillor and was one of the first things that came up.

"The potholes were really bad and it's a road with a huge amount of traffic, much more than you would think."

She added: "When the houses at Lochtyburn were first mooted I said we should build it into the contract for the developer, and get them to pay for it, as the new houses were going to contribute to a significant increase in traffic.

"That however was never included. Eventually Fife Council promised that as soon as the houses were built the work would be done.

"The houses were built and the work was not done.

"I became an absolute bore as year after year I kept asking for it."