Aberdeen

Delight the Customers Kicks off in Newhills

City bus operator, First in Aberdeen did exactly what it set out to, when it held the first in a new programme of community engagement events in the Newhills area.

Firsts ‘Delight the Customers roadshow took place at Watchman Brae in Newhills on Wednesday 21 January and lived up to its name, with more than 30 local residents taking advantage of the opportunity to speak to a number of representatives from First including Managing Director, George Mair and Finance Director, James Wakeling about bus services in the city.
 
The main issue raised was service 17X between Newhills and Dyce, which will be withdrawn from service next Sunday (1 February).
 
Mr Mair said: "This was a great opportunity for both the company and our passengers to enjoy clear and direct dialogue and it gave us a chance to explain why we have to make decisions like the withdrawal of service 17X, which is very poorly used over the course of the day, gets caught up in horrendous traffic congestion and then affects reliability elsewhere on the route.
 
"I am pleased we could explain that in person to those who came along and, without exception, they could understand the challenges we face on a daily basis to deliver an efficient, effective and reliable bus service across the city. I am particularly pleased that some passengers took the time to tell us how much they liked our services, our drivers and the roadshow itself.
 
"This is only the start of 'Delight the Customers' in Aberdeen and I look forward to equally successful events throughout the rest of the year."
 
The dates and areas for the remainder of the Delight the Customer events for 2009 are:

18th February - Cove
18th March - city centre
22nd April - Northfield
20th May - Torry
24th June - Summerhill
22nd July - city centre
19th August - Dyce
23rd September - Mastrick
21st October - Kingswells
18th November - Bridge of Don
15th December - city centre

Exact locations have still to be confirmed and these dates and areas may be subject to change during 2009.

Mr Mair concluded: "The views of our passengers, who use our services day in and day out, are vitally important in helping us plan the development of our network and I would like to thank all those who came along to our event in Newhills for their time and effort."