AN NHS worker has blasted the decision to cut the direct bus service from Cumnock to Glasgow claiming it made a ‘massive difference to her life’.

Suzy Phee relied on the service to get to work at the The Scottish Blood Transfusion service every day as a Venepuncturist.

But since Stagecoach removed the ‘life-changing’ service she insists the replacement connections have been an ‘unreliable nightmare’.

She says she can’t use the connections at Kilmarnock because it will make her late and put major pressure on her colleagues.

Suzy has an important role in the unit as a blood carer for people who need transfusions so getting towork on time stress free is vital.

Since the new connections are no longer an option for her she is forced to use her car which makes her commute longer compared to the direct X76 and isn’t as environmentally friendly.

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She now is begging for the bus giant to consider bringing back the bus and worries that people who don’t drive will miss out or be stranded in Cumnock.

Suzy said: “I work different shifts so trying to get in early in the morning is a nightmare with their not being a direct bus.

“I always mis s the connection and now and I’m forced to drive and use the park and ride which is really inconvenient. If I had to rely on the bus connections I would always be late and it takes a really long time.

“I have to leave an hour earlier to get the subway which adds a lot of time onto my day.

"If I could go back to getting the bus straight home that would be amazing and would make a massive difference to my life.

“I tried the connections at first but the times were a nightmare I could never get to work on time which is so important for my type of work.

“I’m lucky as we ll because I can drive and have a car, if I didn’t I would be extremely stuck and couldn’t help people at the hospital.

“I don’t know what others do but it must take away opportunities for other people who rely on public transport.

“Because I work shifts it means sometimes I am very late, so I don’t want to hang about bus stops in “I work for the blood transfusion unit as a blood carer to those donating.

“If they brought back a direct bus it would be a lot better for me and save me a lot of money.

“Not just that but it would be better for the environment too because I wouldn’t have to use my car as much.

Kilmarnock waiting sometimes an hour on the next bus showing up. It feels dangerous.

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“It would be so much easier and safer getting on a bus that takes you directly to and from.

“People are relying on me to turn up on time for my job and help people in vital need.

“If I can’t do that it puts pressure on my colleagues in the blood unit which could have serious consequences.”

It comes after Stagecoach continue to insist there is no demand to return the bus despite a recent petition raking in over 500 signatures and the Cumnock Chronicle’s Campaign begging for the X76 to return.

A spokespers on for Stagecoach West Scotland said: “We are aware of the petition for the X76 service to revert back to its previous route with some journeys operating directly from Cumno ck thr oug h t o Glasgow.

“As we advised at the time of the service change we had a very small proportion of the passengers on the X76 from Cumnock actually travelling to Glasgow, the overwhelming majority of passengers travelled only to and from points up to and including Kilmarnock Bus Station. As a result we amended the network to operate a 50 and 76 service between Cumnock and Kilmarnock using fully accessible low floor service buses, which are operated from a depot site in the Cumnock area.

“Our passenger numbers show us that between Cumnock and Kilmarnock we are car rying more passengers than before.”