First Midland Bluebird

[Bluebirdscot66]

Vicar st has so far been ok With Only a few issues So far with parked cars , delivery vans etc , it’s been an inconvenience at relative short notice for customers, I believe posters were put on shelters at Asda side On Sunday to inform folk for stance 2 there to go to vicar st .2 to Bo’ness, 3,4 And F14 .
drivers have been informed that no 2 and F14 coming from High station towards vicar st , etc , to go garrison place ( back of Asda ) then to park st (bypassing the stop on first time around ) Turning right into vicar st . Then continue on Etc That will reduce the amount of traffic coming through Asda .
7 mins layover with the 3s and 4 means there is usualy a bus there sometimes an overlap with 2 Buses filling up the stop ..

 

[Observer]

drivers have been informed that no 2 and F14 coming from High station towards vicar st , etc , to go garrison place ( back of Asda ) then to park st (bypassing the stop on first time around ) Turning right into vicar st . Then continue on Etc That will reduce the amount of traffic coming through Asda .

Should work better....but you know what those traffic lights are like. At least there's posters on the old stops.

 

[overthewater]

Lucky for everyone No8 is due in at 20mins past the hour and has to leave at 30mins past.

 

[Observer]

If I remember right the stagecoach 8 was due in vicar st at ‘30 and depart at ‘40 . If or when it returns there would be a 4 on stand ‘28-‘35 .a 2 -Bo’ness ‘30-35 . F14 , I think that away at ‘14 . So stagecoach might be able to squeeze in but whoever last in The stand could be hanging the rear out a little due to avoiding the poles With front end on the Edge of pavement . And if Friday traffic gets as bad as it was pre covid .then it’s just a mess .

Did they do anything with the shelters yet or is it still just one with a large stop, not painted and split into two? I know they did work on that road months ago but forget what exactly, might have just been surfacing.

 

[Bluebirdscot66]

Did they do anything with the shelters yet or is it still just one with a large stop, not painted and split into two? I know they did work on that road months ago but forget what exactly, might have just been surfacing.

Just resurfacing , big shelter still there on the church side .6,6A has been moved to stance 1 on the church side too.
on the vicar st , the 3 will be in from ‘18-25 then 2 Bo’ness arrive 30-35 so should be ok if SC restart the 8

 

[overthewater]

First are making changes on 10th August look on the forthcoming section on its website:

Big change:
* No1 and No5 are staying every 20mins, it seems to be the new norm for them
* No6A is staying hourly so that Falkirk - Larbert is now every 20mins
* No35 is staying as now so the X35 is gone. First Glasgow now covers moodiesburn only with the X3
* X38 are back to every 15mins..

 

[Jordan Adam]

First are making changes on 10th August look on the forthcoming section on its website:

Big change:
* No35 is staying as now so the X35 is gone. First Glasgow now covers moodiesburn only with the X3

It should be noted that the X3 is now Every 20 Minutes, so the number of buses per hour to Moodiesburn hasn't changed, additionally the buses are now evenly spread rather than having one route half hourly and another hourly. So arguably a better service.

 

[Bus Lightyear]

First are making changes on 10th August look on the forthcoming section on its website:

Big change:
* No1 and No5 are staying every 20mins, it seems to be the new norm for them
* No6A is staying hourly so that Falkirk - Larbert is now every 20mins
* No35 is staying as now so the X35 is gone. First Glasgow now covers moodiesburn only with the X3
* X38 are back to every 15mins..

You're a week late. The change starts on the 3rd not the 10th.

 

[Observer]

First are making changes on 10th August look on the forthcoming section on its website:

Big change:
* No1 and No5 are staying every 20mins, it seems to be the new norm for them
* No6A is staying hourly so that Falkirk - Larbert is now every 20mins
* No35 is staying as now so the X35 is gone. First Glasgow now covers moodiesburn only with the X3
* X38 are back to every 15mins..

If you link the page - https://www.firstgroup.com/south-east-and-central-scotland/plan-journey/forthcoming-timetables

7, 8

No Timetable

These services will no longer operate and will be largely replaced by services 6A and 6B Antonshill and Stenhouse Road are no longer served

I see once again they have sneakily put in a permanent cancellation / alteration of a service and using corona as an excuse just like with the X35.

 

[Jordan Adam]

If you link the page - https://www.firstgroup.com/south-east-and-central-scotland/plan-journey/forthcoming-timetables

7, 8

No Timetable

These services will no longer operate and will be largely replaced by services 6A and 6B Antonshill and Stenhouse Road are no longer served

I see once again they have sneakily put in a permanent cancellation / alteration of a service and using corona as an excuse just like with the X35.

The X35 isn't really a surprise, plus in terms of general coverage there's no loss as the X3 has been increased to make up for the X35 being cut back, although those in Kilsyth will loose out.

Stenhouse Road loosing it's service is no major loss as they're in close walking distance of the 6/6A, most houses in that area still fall within 400m of a bus stop which is the general guidance used when planning bus services. Antonshill loosing its service is perhaps more unfortunate, Clearly the main reason the 6A wasn't rerouted was because it would either require the route being split in half, or an extra bus with far too excessive layover at either end. Perhaps if/when the F16 comes back in full it could be rerouted via Antonshill.

 

[PaulMc7]

The only thing Kilsyth really loses out on is the quick express nature of the journey tbh. Still 2 89s an hour from there and it's not exactly the slowest route around plus the swap to the X3 at the Craiglinn Interchange is an option too although probably harder to time given that the 35 is 1 an hour

 

[Jordan Adam]

The only thing Kilsyth really loses out on is the quick express nature of the journey tbh. Still 2 89s an hour from there and it's not exactly the slowest route around plus the swap to the X3 at the Craiglinn Interchange is an option too although probably harder to time given that the 35 is 1 an hour

Journey times on the X35 and 89 were about the same, so it's no huge loss.

 

[Bluebirdscot66]

Roadworks to happen starting Monday 3rd around Falkirk high ,Comley park area Due to be for 2 wks so the likes of 5, 2, f14, 29, will be Affected/ slight delayed.

 

[overthewater]

You're a week late. The change starts on the 3rd not the 10th.

I'm sure it said the 10th this morning but it seems they have been changing stuff.

If you link the page - https://www.firstgroup.com/south-east-and-central-scotland/plan-journey/forthcoming-timetables

7, 8

No Timetable

These services will no longer operate and will be largely replaced by services 6A and 6B Antonshill and Stenhouse Road are no longer served

I see once again they have sneakily put in a permanent cancellation / alteration of a service and using corona as an excuse just like with the X35.

When did that link appear? Ive been trying to find that, I only went by what appeared in forthcoming section.

Stenhouse Road loosing it's service is no major loss as they're in close walking distance of the 6/6A, most houses in that area still fall within 400m of a bus stop which is the general guidance used when planning bus services. Antonshill loosing its service is perhaps more unfortunate, Clearly the main reason the 6A wasn't rerouted was because it would either require the route being split in half, or an extra bus with far too excessive layover at either end. Perhaps if/when the F16 comes back in full it could be rerouted via Antonshill.

Isn't the F16 already back fully? Mind you its the only bus for Fallin.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Isn't the F16 already back fully? Mind you its the only bus for Fallin.

Yes you're right, the full timetable isn't showing on bustimes for some reason. I don't think rerouting it via Antonshill would cause much issues. There's enough time in the timetable to facilitate it.

 

[PaulMc7]

Interesting that the last X37 both directions is later with the timetable change now into Glasgow and out of Glasgow. 20:59 from Falkirk and 22:20 from Glasgow

 

[Bluebirdscot66]

Routing it through to antonshill wouldn’t work as it comes out of carronshore and turn left and then right up munglehead rd Does if not ? and it’s already a long enough journey .

Yes you're right, the full timetable isn't showing on bustimes for some reason. I don't think rerouting it via Antonshill would cause much issues. There's enough time in the timetable to facilitate it.

 

[Observer]

Yeah that route is convoluted as it is, no need to make it worse.

 

[overthewater]

This seems to have come as a complete shock, wonder what the deal is with this.

PM00000003/693 Registered (Short notice)
MIDLAND BLUEBIRD LTD
Route: Stirling Bus Station to Kinross High Street via Menstrie, Alva, Tillicoultry, Dollar, Crook of Deveon
Service number: X53
Service type: Hail & Ride, Normal Stopping
Effective date: 12 Sep 2020

 

[gnolife]

This seems to have come as a complete shock, wonder what the deal is with this.

PM00000003/693 Registered (Short notice)
MIDLAND BLUEBIRD LTD
Route: Stirling Bus Station to Kinross High Street via Menstrie, Alva, Tillicoultry, Dollar, Crook of Deveon
Service number: X53
Service type: Hail & Ride, Normal Stopping
Effective date: 12 Sep 2020

IIRC, didn't Stagecoach withdraw a Stirling to (I want to say) St Andrews bus. This appears to be a straight replacement for the Stirling - Kinross section.

 

[Bluebirdscot66]

IIRC, didn't Stagecoach withdraw a Stirling to (I want to say) St Andrews bus. This appears to be a straight replacement for the Stirling - Kinross section.

23? I think it was . Takes me back to when it was joint operated by midland And stagecoach . I would Think bannockburn would be doing this X53 Then ..?

 

[tbtc]

IIRC, didn't Stagecoach withdraw a Stirling to (I want to say) St Andrews bus. This appears to be a straight replacement for the Stirling - Kinross section.

Yes, the 23 (which was once a Andrews - Cupar - Auchtermuchty - Strathmiglo - Kinross - Dollar - Stirling - Glasgow service - and even saw Kelvin Scottish running the Sunday service to St Andrews thirty years ago, back when the bi-hourly 23 made up half of the service along the main road from St Andrews to Cupar).

But Fife Council have subsidised an hourly 64 (Andrews - Cupar - Auchtermuchty - Strathmiglo and on to Glenrothes) and an hourly 94/94A (Andrews - Cupar - Collessie/Auchtermuchty and on to Newburgh), which made it harder for the 23 to survive.

Best of luck to First with this one - dunno if it's subsidised or not - they used to run half of the 23 (PVR of two, so one from Alexanders Fife/ Fife Scottish/ Stagecoach at St Andrews, one from the Midland/ Bluebird/ First depot at Bannockburn), just like they used to run a lot of the 14 (Glasgow - Kilsyth - Stirling - Alloa - Dunfermline) - I think First pulled out of the 14 and 23 at the same time (retrenching their services back to Tillicoultry/ Alloa).

With the P&R at Kinross, there's potential for it to be a good interchange between north/south/east/west services, but the cuts to the 23 don't auger well.

 

[route101]

What buses will they use? Singles?

I passed that Kinross Park and Ride , a few weeks back. I wondered whats its purpose as Halbeath is down the road with more buses.

 

[overthewater]

What buses will they use? Singles?

I passed that Kinross Park and Ride , a few weeks back. I wondered whats its purpose as Halbeath is down the road with more buses.

So passengers from Kinross can connect with the Citylink services? nothing goes via the village now.

 

[tbtc]

I passed that Kinross Park and Ride , a few weeks back. I wondered whats its purpose as Halbeath is down the road with more buses.

I guess the argument could equally be "what's the point in Halbeath when there's Ferrytoll down the road with more buses".

With Kinross, there's maybe a combination of "there's a few places within a twenty minute radius who might be attracted to drive to Kinross to take a long distance coach, rather than having to drive to drive to a train station in Perth/ Kirkcaldy/ Inverkeithing - given how far from a long distance train station Kinross is"...

...and also...

..."CityLink and Megabus are trying to keep journey times competitive, hence many journeys avoiding running into towns that they used to serve and sometimes using Park & Ride facilities instead, so it'd be better for Kinross to retain a good frequency by having a Park & Ride than losing all services or going down to a token one coach a day".

I remember the days when pretty much all CityLink services ran through Dunfermline and everything long distance connected at the bus station in Perth - now the long distance coaches don't go into such places.

Plus, as the Edinburgh commuter belt expanded further and further (pre-Covid) and the M90 got busier and busier whilst Edinburgh house prices increased, the idea of commuting from Kinross to Edinburgh became more attractive".

 

[overthewater]

It would seem First are running it commercial? and it will be every 2 hours, however this new service will NOT call at the majority of stops, and will only cover half the stops..

First Group has announced it will be running a new bus service for people in Kinross-shire and beyond next month to replace one scrapped by Stagecoach during the lockdown. Bosses say the new X53 service from Stirling to Kinross will call at the “majority” of stops formerly visited by the number 23 bus Stagecoach used to run between Stirling and St Andrews. The new service, which will have an end to end journey time of around an hour, is due to start on Monday, September 14, subject to final approval from the Traffic Commissioner’s Office. The announcement was welcomed by Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell who had feared Stagecoach’s decision to axe the 23 bus would leave some people without any means to get to work or attend medical appointments.

First Group commercial director Graeme Macfarlan told the Perthshire Advertiser : “We are delighted to be introducing the brand new X53 service to maintain links for passengers on the Hillfoots corridor between Stirling and Kinross. “We look forward to serving customers along this route and with some great value fares on offer we hope that more people with consider using the bus more often as their transport mode of choice

Relief as replacement bus service is confirmed

Bosses say the new X53 service from Stirling to Kinross will call at the “majority” of stops formerly visited by the number 23 bus Stagecoach used to run between Stirling and St Andrews.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

Furthermore I have heard First will also be extending there short No51s to Clackmannan again shortly, which seem to confirm Mackies are gone.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Good on them for having a bang at it I say. whether it will work or not only time will tell, stagecoach are in my mind anyway the kings of the
Use it or lose it
approach when it comes to services but you certainly can't fault first for trying and if they managed to to meet this journey time whilst serving the areas that most need and want it and and dare I say god forbid use half decent vehicles then it might pay.

 

[739678]

Timetable for X53 now on Traveline...

 

[tbtc]

Wow - that's much better than I was expecting - is that at the cost of some Stirling - Tillicoultry (Alloa) journeys on the 52?

 

[overthewater]

Wow - that's much better than I was expecting - is that at the cost of some Stirling - Tillicoultry (Alloa) journeys on the 52?

Its pretty much inline what I expected, ie every 2 hours. Remember Mackies is now gone, and no to the 52..