Drivers told not to use bus stop as a ‘bun stop’

Concern has been raised that company drivers have been seen to ‘abandon’ their vehicles at the town’s Eastgate and head off for a coffee and a snack.

Philippa Gilholly, Scottish Borders Council’s team leader for traffic and road safety management, speaking at a meeting of Peebles Parking Working Group on Wednesday, November 30, said it was a ‘bus stop not a terminus’.

And she said bus company management had spoken to drivers advising them not to use the area for that use, adding: “We have made it very clear to Borders Buses that regardless of whether there is a Puffin Crossing there or not their buses are not time-tabled that three of them should be there at any one time.

“We’ve had repeated discussions with them and made it very clear that Eastgate is not to be used as a coffee and bun stop, which it has been to the detriment of other users. We’ve made it very, very clear to them and Borders Buses are working on that just now.

“From what I gather drivers have been spoken to because they just abandon their vehicles and go and get themselves a coffee, which is not what it is for. It’s not a terminus – it’s a bus stop.”

Plans to reinvigorate Eastgate car park came under the spotlight at the meeting.

Dan Cathcart, a team leader within the council’s passenger transport department, said: “We’ve been tasked to bring in external funding to try and help improve the public transport infrastructure around the Borders.

“As part of that we are looking to reinvigorate the Edinburgh Road car park and indeed the bus turning circle, where you’ll see the Borders Buses park up overnight at present.

“We developed a plan in that area with the view that we reinstate that as a bus stop and a bus interchange potentially, with interconnection with pedestrians from Eastgate.

“Peebles Eastgate is very busy, it has a number of east-west, north-south routes joining at that point and those that know the X62 well will know that it has to do that triangular route around the Northgate back onto the Edinburgh Road, regardless of whether there is a northbound or southbound service.

“So as part of our plans what we have been looking at is the installation of a bus shelter, overhead lighting, seating, real time information displays at Edinburgh Road car park to try and encourage some of the bus services to see what is feasible for Peebles commuters.”