STAGECOACH have insisted that the axed number 14 bus from Troon to Irvine would not be ‘cost effective’ if reinstated.

The company has been inundated with requests to bring back the bus service.

Troon Community Councillor, Robert Milligan, has been campaigning for the organisation to revert back to the number 14 timetable from last year, before the introduction of the “unworkable” 14/14A that is currently in operation.

He believes that this has proved to be a “backwards step” in achieving “current satisfaction”.

Speaking at last weeks Troon Community Council, he explained: “I live in the south end of the town and there use to be buses coming every half hour. We no longer have that – there are no buses that go up to that end of the town.

“We need to do something about Stagecoach – people, who want to go places, no longer have access to get into the town. Before this change we had the Ayr [service] through Monkton, Troon, Barassie and Muirhead into Irvine and back.”

A meeting was held with the Ayrshire Bus Users Group on Wednesday, May 2, however a brief response that was heard from Stagecoach’s Commercial Director, Fraser Smith, was that they would not reintroduce the half hour 14 bus service from Ayr to Irvine through Monkton, Troon, Barassie and Muirhead as this was “not cost effective “and caused “delays due to traffic congestion”.

But Stagecoach left the meeting with a promise that they would revisit the 14/14A Bus Programme in the near future to look at reintroducing the 14 bus service, but only on a one hour service.

They also explained that they would look at a Troon local bus to support Muirhead, Barassie and the surrounding areas to help with the transport into town and tie ups with other services.

MSP John Scott said: “The lack of an adequate bus service to the southern end of Troon has been greatly missed by those who have used that service in the past. 

“I regret that despite representations being made to Stagecoach about the difficulty this lack of joined up service has caused, they have not chosen to put an adequate service in place to help those who work at the Marine Hotel or Royal Troon, or nursing homes in the area to get to and from their work. 

“It is time for Stagecoach to consider how they can help to resolve this problem.”

A spokesperson for Stagecoach West Scotland, added: "We made changes to these services to better reflect demand and try to ensure the route is more sustainable over the longer term.

"We engage regularly with the Ayrshire Bus Users Group, and other interested parties, on a number of topics, including our services in Troon.

"The number of passengers who previously travelled from the south end of Troon to Irvine was a very small proportion of the overall passengers on the 14 service, however, we will continue to work with Ayrshire Bus Users groups to explore options that may achieve their aims while ensuring the service can remain sustainable in the long term."