Ember: Electric coach service

[Buzby]

Perhaps quicker based on the timetable, but on one Ember trip we skipped Cumbernauld, Stirling AND Broxden because nobody wanted on or off so we arrived some 22 minutes early. Citylink cannot do this - and you also lose the smugness of travelling with zero tailpipe emissions!

 

[route101]

Both my trips were just over half full which was surprising given there was no rail service north of Perth. There was plenty of space throughout the day and I was freely ably to switch services in the evening. Just under £19 return which I thought was decent. Can't really complain about the departure times and to be honest the midnight / early morning (2/3am deps) are pretty good for catching a flight or a late night out!


Absolutely. Normally I'd take the train and just get a split ticket return from Glasgow to Perth and then to Dundee which gives me full flexibility for a day trip. Given the trains were off North of Perth, bus was my next option and Ember was the natural choice after all the positive feedback I've heard. I was really impressed with how easy it was to change the booked service. I wasn't sure if I could make my 8pm coach so booked the 9.30 but was able to switch onto the 8pm on my phone with 5 minutes notice. I don't think you could do that on Megabus/CityLink.


Haha, Well given it was a trip to the pub for a friend's birthday, I would say it's both that I have a problem with I'll stick with the lagers!


That might've been my issue - the front was full of screaming kids so I had no choice other than hiding at the back!

Interesting you can change what service you want to take. That is one of my issues with Citylink/Megabus is you are fixed to the service as far as I know. I remember using Day returns to Dundee/Aberdeen in the past but seems to have gone to the advance booking model.

Perhaps quicker based on the timetable, but on one Ember trip we skipped Cumbernauld, Stirling AND Broxden because nobody wanted on or off so we riced sone 22 minutes early. Citylink cannot do this - and you also lose the smugness of travelling with zero tailpipe emissions!

I guess there is a cut off to book an ember coach from those stops.

 

[Buzby]

I guess there is a cut off to book an ember coach from them stops.

My driver said 20 minutes (but I cannot see this mentioned on the ember site). Apparently the IT system updates the routes on the fly, so someone cancelling at (say) Dunblane means we can use the bypass rather than stop at the Police Station to wait for a no-show. I still think it an impressive feature.


Just found this:
You need to book online at least 10 minutes before for pre-booked stops, otherwise the bus will not call there. This covers most of our intermediate stops. If you're unable to book online you can call us on +44 (0)131 510 4007 and we'll ask the driver to stop there so you can buy on board. Make sure to phone within office hours (9am - 6pm, seven days a week).

 

[overthewater]

When will the Aberdeen service start? it seems a complete waste having brand new coaches just sitting about doing nothing.

 

[PG]

When will the Aberdeen service start? it seem complete waste having brand new coaches just sitting about doing nothing.

Do we know where the main departure/terminus point will be in Aberdeen? Could be linked with the delay in starting if they are trying to gain access to the bus station given the issues Flixbus have had??

 

[Volvodart]

Do we know where the main departure/terminus point will be in Aberdeen? Could be linked with the delay in starting if they are trying to gain access to the bus station given the issues Flixbus have had??

They may not be intending to use the bus station. It is likely to be the usual electric bus problem of getting sufficient power in to charge the buses

 

[johncrossley]

Citylink cannot do this - and you also lose the smugness of travelling with zero tailpipe emissions!

Although it is debatable whether the net effect of starting an additional Ember service is environmentally friendly overall. It may have been greener if Citylink had replaced their coaches with electric coaches. It depends on how many additional cars are taken off the road.

 

[Gaelan]

My driver said 20 minutes (but I cannot see this mentioned on the ember site). Apparently the IT system updates the routes on the fly, so someone cancelling at (say) Dunblane means we can use the bypass rather than stop at the Police Station to wait for a no-show. I still think it an impressive feature.

When I took Ember (Glasgow-Dundee last month), the driver has an iPad that shows their next stop location; this includes all stops by default, but when a stop's timetabled time is some threshold away (I remember it being 10 minutes, but it could be 20), if there are no booked customers, it disappears and the destination shown changes to the next stop.

 

[Jordan Adam]

I've used Ember a few times and agree with what others have said.

Drivers are always willing to go the extra mile, the IT is far ahead of that of any other operator (especially Citylink...) and the coaches are comfortable and always well presented and clean (again Citylink can be hit or miss). You can hear the motor noise but i wouldn't really say its that noticeable really; its still a lot quieter than a diesel driveline on a coach.

One of the times i caught Ember the toilet was out of use due to a fault, however what really impressed me was that all the passengers got a text and email informing them of this 15-20 minutes prior to departure. Its small things like this that really set Ember apart when it comes to customer service.

Interesting you can change what service you want to take. That is one of my issues with Citylink/Megabus is you are fixed to the service as far as I know. I remember using Day returns to Dundee/Aberdeen in the past but seems to have gone to the advance booking model.

You can completely modify or cancel the booking at no cost. Even with Flixbus there's still a booking fee if you cancel.

 

[Tayway]

Ember is by far the best public transport company I've used in Scotland from a customer service point of view – the capability of the booking and tracking technology far exceeds Citylink and most other bus companies.

I hope they get the Aberdeen route up and running soon, and I imagine their model of making pre-booked stops at smaller places off the main road will be very popular.

If I had to guess, the stops will be something like Mill O'Mains in Dundee, Inveraldie, Forfar, Brechin, Stracathro Hospital, Laurencekirk, Fordoun, Stonehaven, Newtonhill, Portlethen and Duthie Park in Aberdeen.

 

[scotrail158713]

Forfar

I reckon it would likely be at McDonalds instead of going right into the town (like the occasional Citylink services)

 

[Tayway]

I reckon it would likely be at McDonalds instead of going right into the town (like the occasional Citylink services)

Possibly, but there are detours of similar length into Dunblane and Cumbernauld at present, and I reckon it would be encourage a fair amount of new traffic given the limited Citylink service.

 

[lachlan]

Although it is debatable whether the net effect of starting an additional Ember service is environmentally friendly overall. It may have been greener if Citylink had replaced their coaches with electric coaches. It depends on how many additional cars are taken off the road.

Additional public transport is good from an accessibility perspective and hopefully these new services will draw additional passengers from cars rather than from existing buses or rail. If most of the passengers on these services would have gone by rail, then it isn't environmentally friendly at all but if the journeys are from road then there will be a positive environmental impact

 

[Buzby]

I spoke with a passenger who was based at St Maddoes and said the service had ‘revolutionised’ the villages travel regime, killing car journeys at a stroke. Of course, someone who is paying off a car lease will prefer to make use of it rather than the Ember service, but he said the intro of the Youth travel card as well as Saltire-card concessions along with no parking costs in Dundee meant almost every bus diverted in/out the village and also praised its reliability. I forgot to ask if they had a conventional bus service but looking at Bus UK there are only 2 and they’re all multiple stopping services compared to just 3 with Ember.

 

[route101]

I reckon it would likely be at McDonalds instead of going right into the town (like the occasional Citylink services)

Going into Forfar could be selling point for Ember. Its making me wonder if the next route may simply be Dundee to Aberdeen.

 

[Buzby]

Going into Forfar could be selling point for Ember. Its making me wonder if the next route may simply be Dundee to Aberdeen.

You might be right. I noticed they’ve opened a branch office in Dundee, so perhaps that will facilitate a Dundee-Aberdeen (and perhaps Inverness) depot.

 

[GusB]

You might be right. I noticed they’ve opened a branch office in Dundee, so perhaps that will facilitate a Dundee-Aberdeen (and perhaps Inverness) depot.

Planning permission has been granted for a charging hub in Inverness. See this post::

Ember: Electric coach service

Are they doing a lot of advertising? Because Citylink has Brand Awareness , everyone knows them. Ember's name must be unknown to the general public and its name isn't self-explanatory.

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Buzby]

That’s a given (Inverness chargepoint) as they appear to place them with 10m of the ends of their routes - but I wonder if Glasgow to Inverness will be too much of a stretch - Aberdeen seems a safer option?

 

[Trnsprt4Sctlnd]

At least Ember are trying to make it work on long distance routes using electric coaches.

I can only say that the issues surrounding range issues with electric drivelines doesn’t make it a sensible option, its the biggest issue facing coachwork and long distance haulage, ultimately just because you can doesn’t mean to say you should.

Does anyone know the realistic range of there Yutong electric coaches?

 

[Blindtraveler]

I'm sure they've said in the past that Inverness is possible on a single charge and although the vehicle would have to be charged before returning south again it's no more ambitious than for William which in theory might be more energy intensive due to the nature of the roads.

 

[Buzby]

Does anyone know the realistic range of there Yutong electric coaches?

Too many variables to generate sensible data. Prior to the install of ember’s Renfrewshire charger, a driver mentioned when departing Dundee fully charged, he can get to Glasgow and back without requiring a recharge, in Summer the Yutongs will report 30-40m distance remaining, but in Winter this drops to 15-20m. No doubt headwinds can further deplete this along with heating etc. That’s why I believe Glw-Inv direct will be a bit of a stretch.

 

[Fundee on Tay]

Got chatting to a very friendly Ember driver tonight. He states (as has been speculated earlier in the thread) that the Dundee to Aberdeen route would be via Montrose rather than Forfar.

I’m sure many residents of the Angus and Mearns coast will welcome the arrival but I did say I was sure the untapped market was via Forfar and Brechin.

 

[Stan Drews]

Got chatting to a very friendly Ember driver tonight. He states (as has been speculated earlier in the thread) that the Dundee to Aberdeen route would be via Montrose rather than Forfar.

I’m sure many residents of the Angus and Mearns coast will welcome the arrival but I did say I was sure the untapped market was via Forfar and Brechin.

They probably have more opportunity to build revenue competing with the Stagecoach X7 through the larger population centres up the coast, rather than with the direct and frequent Citylink offering up the A90. The X7 isn’t the most reliable either!!

 

[Tayway]

It's an interesting move, and the population along the A92 is certainly greater than along the A90. They must have decided that undercutting ScotRail on price (and the X7 on reliability) will create more demand even if it is uncompetitive with the Citylink on speed.

As far as the stops go, I can't see many opportunities to speed up journeys compared with the X7 (although of course the pre-booking and having only one stop per location will help). I've listed the current X7 stops below and where Ember would be most likely to serve as well.

Monymusk Park – keep
Panmurefield – probably drop
Ethiebeaton Park – keep
Muirdrum – drop
Arbroath – keep one stop in the town centre

Marywell – drop
Inverkeilor – keep
Ferryden – drop
Montrose – keep one stop, probably on the main road to save time

St Cyrus – keep
Johnshaven – keep
Gourdon – drop, too close to Inverbervie
Inverbervie – keep
(The next three stops in the middle of nowhere can be dropped)

Stonehaven, keep one stop in town centre
Newtonhill – keep
Portlethen – keep one stop

Then one intermediate stop in Aberdeen, either by the Bridge of Dee or Duthie Park.

That makes 12 altogether, compared to 11 I think for the Edinburgh and Glasgow routes.

The X7 currently takes about 2hr 30m compared to 1hr 25m or so for the Citylink – if Ember could cut that down to under 2hrs then I reckon they could begin to compete for end-to-end journeys too.

 

[overthewater]

And So is Christmas:

It's all well and good planning this new route out but everyman and his dog know this is coming... IF it does come. The registration need to go in within the next couple of weeks or this service wont appear until the middle of 2024.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Got chatting to a very friendly Ember driver tonight. He states (as has been speculated earlier in the thread) that the Dundee to Aberdeen route would be via Montrose rather than Forfar.

I’m sure many residents of the Angus and Mearns coast will welcome the arrival but I did say I was sure the untapped market was via Forfar and Brechin.

This aligns with the fact that Ember coaches have been spotted in Montrose a few times presumably on route trials.

 

[lachlan]

Will be good for Bervie, Johnshaven, and St Cyrus having another bus service. I've heard the X7 has been rather unreliable lately.

 

[Gareth1980]

2 Drivers have told me February is the plan for the full launch of the Aberdeen, although there maybe a "soft start" before this... Think they did something similar with Glasgow?

 

[Volvodart]

The triaxles are due for delivery before then, unless it has changed, so it may be them that are being used.

 

[AndrewTaylor95]

The triaxles are due for delivery before then, unless it has changed, so it may be them that are being used.

I reckon they should use the triaxles for Glasgow and Edinburgh, services are getting busier, Tce12s are fine for a new Aberdeen service IMO.