Highland Council unveils new 108 Shopper Bus to link communities with Inverness retail parks and supermarkets
A new bus service aimed at linking under-served city communities to Inverness’s retail parks and large superstores has been unveiled by Highland Council.
The local authority has announced that its new 108 ‘Shopper Bus’ will run every Tuesday and Thursday. Its route will head from Torvean park-and-ride along the southern distributor, through the Inshes Retail Park and then through the UHI Campus to the Inverness Shopping Park in Eastfield Way.
It will also serve a number of streets next to the southern distributor, including Holm Dell, Culduthel Mains, Slackbuie, MIller Street and Boswell Road.
The council said the new in-house bus service will “make it more convenient” for people living in and around the city to visit two of its retail parks. The route also passes several major supermarket sites.
The new service has been created as a direct result of feedback from local residents who have been physically unable to catch the service bus as they live too far away from the active bus stops.
Chairman of the council’s economy and infrastructure committee, Councillor Ken Gowans said: “This is another example of us listening to the community and taking action to provide a service specifically tailored to make it more convenient for people to get to two popular shopping areas of the city.
“I am sure this new direct service aimed at shoppers will attract passengers who currently find it difficult to get to the two retail parks without having to first go into the city centre.
The 108 Shopper Bus service starts on Tuesday, February 4. Details of the timetable will shortly be available on the Highland Council Buses dedicated webpage and Facebook page.
News of the new bus service comes as Highland Council continues to expand its in-house bus operations. It also announced last week that it will be buying D&E Coaches, one of the region’s biggest independently owned coach operators.
