‘Eclipse was an obvious opportunity for Stagecoach to provide additional services’

I was surprised that, given the major event on Wednesday 12 August with the eclipse and the constant publicity advising people where and how to watch it, our buses appeared not to have anticipated that large numbers of people would be travelling to the West Coast.

My daughter and her children had prepared a picnic so they could enjoy watching the eclipse on the beach. However, they and several other people waiting at their bus stop were unable to board because the bus was full. This was a huge disappointment.

I tried to arrange a taxi for them, but others who had been unable to get a bus had clearly had the same idea, and none were available until after the eclipse. They therefore walked as far as they could in the time available, but ultimately had to watch the eclipse from a busy road overlooking the West Coast rather than enjoying the experience they had planned.

Surely an event of this scale presented an obvious opportunity for Stagecoach to provide additional services. This would have helped the community while also generating additional revenue for the company.

The same issue arises when a cruise ship is in port. On two occasions I have tried to catch a bus to St Martin’s, on one occasion for a doctor’s appointment, only to find huge queues of cruise passengers waiting to travel around the island. Many were unable to board because the buses could not take them.

Surely providing additional buses when a cruise ship is in port would benefit both visitors and local residents, while also creating an opportunity for additional revenue.

It seems that opportunities are being missed to support the community, provide a better service to visitors and generate income. I would therefore be interested to know whether Stagecoach will consider providing additional services when exceptionally high demand can reasonably be anticipated.

Patricia De Carteret
St Peter Port

A spokesperson from Stagecoach responds:

Thank you for giving Stagecoach the opportunity to comment.

Our services are operated in accordance with the level of service agreed with the States of Guernsey under our contract.

We work closely with the States of Guernsey to accommodate any additional service requirements where these are identified and requested as part of the contract.

Any decisions around additional services or capacity in response to major events or periods of increased demand would therefore be a matter for the States of Guernsey.