Whitecross sits on area 3 of SMID and the whole community has major concerns around the lack of public transport that attends the community after 6pm in the evening.

We have a working population within the village that if they don’t drive it is detrimental to their ability to get a job which will support them having better life chances. This is also to be said of young people, the children of Whitecross attend Graeme High School in Falkirk with a catchment for this school being Whitecross PS, West quarter PS, St. Margarets PS, Laurieston PS, Hallglen PS and Victoria PS. This means that friendships groups will more than likely be out with the village. This means that young people from the age of 11 onwards will have to travel without adequate public transport in the evenings to visit friends and be involved in extracurricular activities after school. We will have parents having to pick up children in cars, which will have a detrimental impact to the environment. In a day when we are trying to promote young people and adults to use public transport especially with the increasing costs to fuel and living costs having to drive to pick up your child who may be visiting a friend after school will have a major impact. One mum spoke about how her son who visited his friend after school and missed the last bus had to travel by train to Linlithgow and then walk over 3 miles home with approx. 1.5 miles of this being on a road with no pavement. Another occasion their child had to walk from Maddiston again along a dark road, they took a lift from someone and this could have had major consequences accepting a lift from someone due to being tired and wanting to get home. In addition to this if a young person misses the morning school bus, the next public transport bus leaves the village at 8.55am where they have to take a bus to Maddiston and then change buses to get to Falkirk. This means that they don’t arrive at school if buses are on time until approx. 9.30am which means they are arriving at school approx. an hour late, this has a detrimental affect to the school day and this impacts their overall learning again making it difficult in terms of their life chances. This can also be true of any working adults in employment, being late for work or not having a bus to get to work on time won’t allow for those able to work to gain employment.

The whole community which includes parents are concerned that the last bus attending the village leaves Linlithgow bridge is at 5.55pm and the last bus leaving the village is at a little after this. This does not allow for extracurricular activities happening at school due to parents having to pick up their child. Does not allow those working individuals to work later than a 5pm finish again if the last bus is missed then it is down to the individual or young person to walk along the 2 60mph roads which don’t have pavements to Whitecross.

The whole community are concerned that it will take an adult or young person to be killed while walking these roads for something to be done about this. Please consider signing this petition to support the community to get those in power to look at helping our local community.

***Another villager has pointed out that Whitecross doctor surgery is Meadowbank (Polmont), which is now 2 buses away if you don't drive.  We all think it is unfair to expect sick people to catch 2 buses and have that wait in between as well as the wait for the original bus.***

With Thanks