A PETITION has been launched to save a vital bus link for residents of Dumbarton.

Hundreds of people have voiced their opposition to First Bus dropping the 208 service, which runs between Brucehill and Silverton.

First Bus blamed the “catastrophic effect” on passenger numbers from the coronavirus lockdown, saying the route was no longer “commercially viable”.

And the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) has warned it cannot afford to subsidise a replacement service.

One petition comment states: “My mother and my grandparents among many others all rely on this service to get to the town centre for their shopping/doctors appointments.

“It is absolutely disgraceful that it has even been considered to stop this service.

“Many of the residents of Brucehill simply aren’t fit to walk down to Cardross Road to catch a bus.”

Iain McLaren, councillor for the Dumbarton ward, said: “The decision by First Bus to axe the vital 208 service in Dumbarton without any form of consultation is completely unacceptable.

“This service is an absolute basic necessity for many residents, and is their only way of getting to the shops and health centres, seeing friends and family, or going to church groups.

“Many residents on the 208 route are elderly or have health or mobility issues. They can’t walk long distances, or wheel themselves up a steep hill from a bus stop far away.

“Care workers and other key workers also use the service to get to their work.

“It just isn’t right that after all they have risked to help others they should now have to spend their hard-earned wages on taxi fares that will soon mount up.

“Pupils also use it to get to Knoxland Primary and Dumbarton Academy, and some of these kids also have health problems. Without the 208 they face a long trek along busy roads at times of peak air pollution, or having to cross Cardross Road during rush hour to get a bus.

“Simply stopping the 208 bus without considering those it will affect is an act of social vandalism. This will have a disastrous effect on those who can least manage without the service and I call upon First Bus to reconsider.”

A spokeswoman for SPT said: “It is disappointing that First has decided not to reinstate this service.

“SPT is monitoring the situation and while we will look for possible alternative solutions, we simply do not have the finances available post-Covid to plug every gap created in the network.”