STRANDED pensioners banded together when their bus service was axed — and launched their own.
The villagers got moving after losing their lifeline transport twice in the space of three years.
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And after setting off last year with a borrowed bus and two staff, the determined group now have a fleet of six vehicles and 25 drivers carrying 1,500 passengers a week.
Their first service in tiny Glenfarg, Perthshire, has been named the best in Scotland and they have just launched a second route.
Douglas Fraser, 67 — one of the masterminds behind the scheme — said: “We had to step up.
“The nature of rural communities is that you have to fend for yourself.
“We realised no one was going to do this for us, so we had to get our sleeves rolled up and do it for ourselves.”
Glenfarg, with a population of about 800, is close to the busy M90 motorway but has no direct access to it.
Over the years, the village has seen its pub, banks and library shut.
After it then lost its bus services, retired engineer Douglas and others decided enough was enough.
He said: “People were just going to start leaving the village. We could see a downward spiral for the place.”
The group set about applying for grants and after years of effort, launched Glenfarg Community Transport in April last year.
Demand has seen the Glenfarg team go from 140 passengers a week on a 16-seater minibus to 1,500 — with an electric bus set to become the seventh vehicle in the fleet next week.
An hourly service to Kinross runs from 7am to 6pm, six days a week, and a new route to Tillicoultry, near Stirling, was added this week.
Chairman Drew Smart, 70, said: “I’m not surprised at how well it’s gone.
“If there’s a decent bus service you will find a lot of people will use it.”
In June, the group beat giants such as Citylink and Stagecoach to win the best bus service gong at the Scottish Transport Awards.
Locals are now attempting to bring back the village pub. Douglas said proudly: “They can see that success is achievable.”
