Stagecoach has repainted one of its Highland fleet into a heritage livery from the 1970s to mark the 50th anniversary of bus services on the Scottish island, reports Nick Larkin
To celebrate 50 years of bus services on Skye, Stagecoach Highland has repainted one of its buses in the same livery as could be seen in 1970 when the island’s routes were operated by Highland Omnibuses. Stagecoach has operated the services on Skye for the last 13 years, since the takeover of previous operator Rapsons in 2008, and its heritage-liveried bus will be seen on routes all across the island.
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Two of Stagecoach’s drivers, who have a combined 78 years of bus driving experience between them, said they are proud to be serving the communities around Skye today. Alec Macfarlane was born on Skye and has been driving buses since 1983. He has been driving service 56 between Portree and Dunvegan for 19 years and has seen a lot of change in that time.
Alec said: “I love how rewarding my job is with the different people I get to see each day. I’ve watched hundreds of kids grow up on Skye using my school buses and now even drive some of their kids to school too. A lot has changed since I first started driving, the technology we’ve seen over the last few years has made a big difference to how easy it is for people to use our rural services, they really are a lifeline to the communities around Skye.”
Another long serving bus driver, Jim Cummings has been driving buses since 1981, and relocated to Skye in 2003. Jim’s father Bill was also a bus driver and a controller in Braemar for 42 years. Jim is usually found behind the wheel on route 52, which links Armadale and Portree, and has been driving the service for more than 12 years.
Asked about the changes he has seen in his time driving buses, Jim said: “There has been a lot of change in 40 years – from Leyland Leopards with crash gearboxes to tri-axle modern automatics now. I even remember the laminated windscreens we had that if they got damaged you would be covered in broken glass! Safety has come a long way in that time.”
David Beaton, Managing Director for Stagecoach Highland said: “We’re really proud to be keeping the communities around Skye connected in what has been one of the most challenging years in the transport industry. Our anniversary bus looks fantastic and we’ll look forward to seeing what the next 50 years brings for services on the island.”
The company employs 23 people at the island’s Portree depot, operating a fleet of 15 coaches and buses which cover over 500,000 miles each year.
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