A ROW over Clydebank’s new bus service to the hospital erupted because it doesn’t have any stops along the way.

Residents at the recent Clydebank East Community Council meeting condemned the route to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Children as it was a direct service not stopping in Whitecrook.

A six-month pilot was launched in March after concerted campaigning from Dalmuir activists 

But one Clydebank East community councillor even claimed that the service had already been suddenly stopped because it was so poorly used. She claimed the bus, as is, was “no use”.

Councillor Gail Casey told the meeting the bus would continue for the full six months and a West Dunbartonshire Council spokeswoman later confirmed to the Post that the bus was still going. Cllr Casey said: “The only way to prove it’s viable is to have it go from point A to point B to point A.”

But Craig Edward, vice-chairman of Dalmuir and Mountblow Community Council, who led the charge for the bus, said the pilot had to be a direct service only. 

And he warned again that if residents didn’t use it now, they would be back to using a combination of three buses from the town instead of one.

Mr Edward said: “The problem with a bus of this nature is it’s not going to suit everyone. By law, we can’t put a bus in place on a commercial route if a commercial operator is not running it.

“We tried to get the bus to go through Barnes Street and perhaps stop off near the hospice, but we were told very quickly that was not an option.

“Once the trial is up, a commercial service will open up the route and be accessible from many schemes. But then it would not be a direct bus.”