Lack of buses available for Up Helly Aa squads, meeting hears
A LERWICK councillor has said a lack of available buses may affect some squads being able to take part in January’s Up Helly Aa festivities.
John Fraser raised the matter at a meeting of the full council on Wednesday during a discussion on bus contracts.
He said he was aware of two, potentially three, Lerwick Up Helly Aa squads that “may be unable to participate in January’s festival due to the lack of buses being available for hire”.
The Lerwick South member questioned whether this could pose a risk to future public bus contracts.
Squads of guizers hire buses to transport them around Lerwick from night to morning as they perform acts in halls, as part of the town’s well-known fire festival celebrations on the last Tuesday in January.
At the 2025 Up Helly Aa there were 47 squads, which featured nearly 1,000 guizers in total.
One local bus company, R. Robertson & Son, said this week that it has been requested to provide buses from “several additional squad members recently”.
“However, with the volume of bookings we have, plus regular work, we are at capacity,” the company’s managing director Sonia Robertson said after the SIC meeting.
“There are 17 vehicles to orchestrate at last count.
“We also need to allow for maintenance work and any unforeseen issues.”
She also said the bus company needs “wiling drivers” as the long, overnight shift is not suitable for everyone.
“We have been continuously training drivers and recruiting. This is a magnification of the ongoing challenges within the bus and coach industry for years,” Robertson said.
“We do not realise the importance of the services until it is no longer available which is too late.”
Meanwhile responding to Fraser’s question about the number of buses in Shetland and the impact it could have on future bus contracts, development director Neil Grant said more clarity should come soon.
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Tenders have gone out for public bus and school services, which should start in August 2026.
Grant said if there is a restriction on buses then that will be reflected in the tenders the SIC will receive.
“It would certainly be a significant risk [if that’s an issue],” he said.
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