Planned service changes
We have been reviewing our network of services across East Scotland and have put together a set of proposals for changes to come into effect in May.
We keep our services under constant review to improve reliability, incorporate suggestions and meet customer requests wherever possible, and many of the proposals below are in direct response to such requests from our customers. We also continually look for opportunities to grow our network and as such we are very pleased to propose a new service between Livingston and Glasgow, building on the success of our existing service X51.
Within these proposals, there are also some service reductions and withdrawals. The vast majority of our services are operated commercially without local authority subsidy, for which revenue from fares, tickets and concessionary travel must cover all the costs of operation. A small number of services no longer cover these costs and regrettably are no longer viable to continue operating in their present form.
Full details of our proposals can be found below.
Should you have any comments or feedback, please provide these using the form below by Friday 23 March.
Fife Area
Service 2A: Amazon – Duloch Park – Ferrytoll P&R
Proposal: Revised route and timetable, operating as service X2. The route will run as a circular to/from Ferrytoll P&R via A823(M), Castle Drive, Lapwing Drive, Sandpiper Drive (for Amazon), Dunlin Drive, Greenshank Drive, Aberdour Road, Masterton Road, Castle Drive and back to Ferrytoll P&R. Rosyth and Halbeath P&R will no longer be served.
Reason for proposal: To better reflect customer demand by focusing this service on the Amazon/Duloch Park to Ferrytoll section. Running via the A823(M) will provide a faster journey for commuters and Amazon workers connecting with Express services at Ferrytoll.
Service 3/3A: Townhill – Dunfermline – Duloch Park
Proposal: Revised timetable, with additional journeys serving Amazon, numbered 3B.
Reason for proposal: Revised timetable to allow for start / finish times at Amazon.
Service 4: Dunfermline – Oakley – Blairhall
Proposal: Revised route in Blairhall.
Reason for proposal: Due to intermittent reliability issues, the service will change how it serves Blairhall. The new route heading into Blairhall will go via the B9037, South Avenue then Holdsworth Street before coming back out Rintoull Avenue. This is believed to save the service a few minutes which can be redistributed throughout the timetable.
Service 7: Dunfermline – Kirkcaldy – Leven
Proposal: Revised timetable.
Reason for proposal: Following the August 2016 network revision, this service experienced significant reliability issues necessitating a further timetable change to be introduced in October of that year. This timetable adjustment resolved the reliability issues but resulted in the service no longer being coordinated with services 7A and 7B as originally envisaged. The proposed new timetable restores the coordination between services to give a better spread of journeys on the busy Dunfermline – Dalgety Bay and Kirkcaldy – Leven ends of the route.
Service 7A: Kirkcaldy – Leven
Proposal: Revised timetable.
Reason for proposal: To coordinate with revised service 7 giving a better spread of journeys between Kirkcaldy and Leven.
Service 7B: Kelty – Dunfermline – Dalgety Bay
Proposal: Minor timetable revisions, including the withdrawal of Sunday service 7C. Service 7C journeys will be replaced by service 7B journeys between Dunfermline and Kelty. The Sunday timetable will be revised to coordinate with service 33 between Dunfermline bus station and Queen Margaret Hospital.
Reason for proposal: To coordinate with other changes on the network. Service 7C was introduced in August 2016 to provide Camdean with two buses per hour on Sundays, in common with Monday to Saturday, but passenger numbers are not sufficient to justify its continued provision. Camdean will therefore be served hourly on Sundays by service 7.
Service 8/8A: Dunfermline – High Valleyfield – Kincardine – Alloa
Proposal: Some Monday to Saturday service 8A journeys will be diverted via Culross, and be numbered 8B. Sunday journeys serving Culross and Alloa renumbered to 8B for consistency.
Reason for proposal: Following passenger requests for better links between Culross and Kincardine.
Service 11/12: Kirkcaldy – Templehall – Fife Central Retail Park
Proposal: During the main daytime period, Service 11 will depart from Kirkcaldy Bus Station at 10 and 40 minutes past the hour and Service 12 will depart from Kirkcaldy Bus Station at 25 and 55 minutes past the hour.
The Service 11 outbound route from Kirkcaldy Bus Station to Fife Central Retail Park is unchanged. The Service 11 return route from Fife Central Retail Park to Kirkcaldy Bus Station will now be via Chapel Level, Birnam Road Shops, Brodick Road Shops and Valley Gardens.
The Service 12 outbound route from Kirkcaldy Bus Station to Fife Central Retail Park is unchanged. Service 12 will no longer continue to Glen Bruar Place, but will now return to Kirkcaldy Bus Station via Chapel Level, Redcraigs, Newliston Drive, Glamis Road turning circle, Brodick Road Shops, Bennochy Road Lomond Gardens and Ferrard Rd Aldi.
Glen Bruar Place will now be served by Service X37 during the main daytime period on Monday to Saturday and Service 32A on Monday to Saturday evenings and on Sundays.
Reason for proposal: Reduced frequency to match decreasing passenger demand.
Service 14: Kirkcaldy – Dunnikier Estate
Proposal: Minor timetable changes with some early morning and mid evening journeys withdrawn. Evening and Sunday service to operate via Templehall Avenue and Harris Drive rather than Hendry Road (as service 14A)
Reason for proposal: Withdrawn journeys due to very low usage. Other journeys retimed as part of wider network changes.
Service 15: Kirkcaldy – Templehall – Fife Central Retail Park – Chapel
Proposal: Service replaced by extended service X37. Evening and Sunday service replaced by a combination of services 14A (Templehall/Harris Drive), 32A (Glen Bruar Place) and 33/33B (Templehall/Lindores Drive)
Reason for proposal: Revision introduces a new direct links between Glenrothes and Gallatown through to Fife Central Retail Park. The route between Kirkcaldy bus station and Chapel will remain the same.
Service 19: Rosyth – Dunfermline – Halbeath P&R – Cowdenbeath – Ballingry
Proposal: Reduce frequency between Rosyth and Dunfermline to every 20 minutes. Alternate daytime journeys between Dunfermline and Ballingry will serve Fife Leisure Park (numbered 19) or Hill of Beath (numbered 19A), to give a 20 minute frequency to each. Early morning and evening journeys (numbered 19B) will serve both Fife Leisure Park and Hill of Beath. Monday to Friday journeys to/from Rosyth Dockyard, via Kings Road, are renumbered 19D. Most journeys to/from Amazon will be withdrawn, with replacement links available on service 3B and 33.
Reason for proposal: Service 19 has been running to a 10 minute frequency for many years and remains a popular service, but usage of this service has declined as new services have developed and the local economy has changed. In particular, the improvements in recent years to Edinburgh and Dalgety Bay services passing through Rosyth means this end of the route is now somewhat over-bussed with up to 13 journeys per hour between the bus station and Rosyth Crossroads. The rerouting of the service via Fife Leisure Park will improve access to this facility compared to those currently offered by service 33, while service 33 will also serve Hill of Beath. There are some revisions around Rosyth Dockyard start/finish times and Amazon start/finish times.
New Service 31: Glenrothes – Bankhead – Stenton – Glenrothes Asda
Proposal: New service operating up to every 30 minutes, Monday to Saturday, between Glenrothes bus station, Bankhead and Stenton.
Reason for proposal: To replace links currently provided on service 32. Service 32 will no longer serve the Bankhead and Stenton loop.
Service 32: Kirkcaldy – Cardenden – Kinglassie – Glenrothes
Proposal: Discontinue Bankhead and Stenton loop on daytime journeys with new service 31 replacing this at a higher frequency. Evening and Sunday journeys will operate as service 32A and additionally serve Glen Bruar Place in Kirkcaldy replacing service 15A.
Reason for proposal: To improve efficiency and reliability. Spread of departures between Kirkcaldy and Cardenden (32 and 33/33A/33B) is improved.
Service 33/33A: Kirkcaldy – Cardenden – Cowdenbeath – Halbeath P&R – Dunfermline
Proposal: Reroute via Halbeath bypass instead of Fife Leisure Park and all journeys will now serve Hill of Beath. Service 33 journeys will serve Alderston Drive. Evening service 33B is unchanged. The Sunday timetable is revised to co-ordinate with service 32.
Reason for proposal: Usage of service 33 has grown since the frequency was increased to every 30 mins in August 2016 and it provides a strategic link to Queen Margaret Hospital. To improve reliability, the route will no longer serve Fife Leisure Park, which will be covered by revised service 19, but all journeys now serve Hill of Beath improving links to health facilities in Cowdenbeath and Dunfermline. Journeys via Alderston Drive replace service 81.
Service 37A: Glenrothes bus station – Cadham – Glenrothes bus station - Asda
Proposal: Service to operate throughout the day with an improved frequency of up to every 15 minutes between the bus station and Asda/Morrisons. This partly replaces service X37 on daytime journeys from Asda to Collydean, Balfarg and Cadham.
Reason for proposal: Service X37 is revised to operate in a anticlockwise loop of North Glenrothes only throughout the daytime with service 37A introduced in a clockwise direction continuing the links to and from Asda. Those travelling to Asda from North Glenrothes will have to board on the opposite side of the road to present with the link now being a one way circular route. See service X37 for more details of services in North Glenrothes.
Service 39/39A/39B/39C/39D: Kirkcaldy – Thornton – Glenrothes – Leslie/Newcastle
Proposal: Revised timetable with minor route revisions. Certain 39A journeys are now routed via Kirkcaldy Oswald Road and Park Road replacing service 41, these are numbered 39B. Service 39 journeys maintain the link to St Clair Street. The route of Evening and Sunday journeys is altered to improve the connectivity of Leslie/Newcastle to Glenrothes; these journeys are numbered 39C/39D.
Reason for proposal: Partly to improve reliability, offer improved frequencies in the Gallatown area and also to improve connections in the evenings and Sunday.
Service 41/41A/41B/41C: Kirkcaldy/Leven – Kennoway – Leven
Proposal: Revised routing with services all following the current evening routing via St Clair Street, Kirkcaldy, and omitting Robertson Road, Cupar. Timings will be subject to minor changes as a result. Saturday afternoon timetable is also amended with 1510 and 1610 ex Kirkcaldy combined into a 1540 journey and the 1611 and 1711 journeys from Cupar combined into a 1641 journey.
Reason for proposal: Service 39B will offer an improved frequency for Gallatown area of Kirkcaldy. Timing constraints on the remainder of the trip no longer allow sufficient time to serve Robertson Road and maintain a reliable timetable.
Service 42/42B: St Andrews – Tayport – Dundee
Proposal: Revise two early Saturday morning journeys- the 0532 from St Andrews will run at 0520 and the 0622 from Tay Bridge South will start from Dundee bus station.
Reason for proposal: To co-ordinate with changes to the Saturday morning timetable on service 77.
Service 49A: Kennoway – Buckhaven – Leven – Mountfleurie
Proposal: Withdraw the 0625 journey from Leven bus station.
Reason for proposal: Very low passenger numbers.
Service 77/77B: Dundee – Newport – Gauldry/Wormit
Proposal: Withdraw the daytime service 77B journeys.
Reason for proposal: Low passenger numbers. Fife Council tendered service 92 provides an alternative facility covering much of the 77B route within Newport, from which passengers can interchange to Stagecoach services 77 and X54 to Dundee at Newport High Street. Contracted evening journeys will remain unaffected.
Service 81: Parkneuk – Dunfermline – QMH – Cowdenbeath – Ballingry – Glenrothes
Proposal: Divert from Alderston Drive to run via Robertson Road, and also serve Pilmuir Street and Broomhead Drive.
Reason for proposal: Following requests, the service will once again serve Broomhead Drive. To enable this, the route is withdrawn from Alderston Drive, which will be served by the 33.
Service 97: Leven – Largoward – St Andrews
Proposal: Introduce new journeys on weekdays: 0800 St Andrews to Leven; 1530 St Andrews to Leven (school holidays only); and 1635 Leven to St Andrews (school holidays only).
Reason for proposal: To provide extra journeys at busy times and fill gaps on school holidays when service 98 does not run.
Services 107, 108, 150 & 173 workers’ buses
Proposal: Withdraw services.
Reason for proposal: Low passenger numbers, more variable shifts at the employment sites these routes serve and availability of other more comprehensive local services in these areas means the continued operation of these services is no longer viable.
Service 330: Blairingone – Dollar
Proposal: Withdraw service.
Reason for proposal: Trial commercial extension of an existing school contract. Loss of Dollar Academy journeys means this is no longer viable.
Services X4: Leven - Glenrothes
Proposal: Reintroduce service X4, following the current X26 routing between Leven and Glenrothes bus station. This replaces the X26 but is timed to offer connections at Glenrothes with express services to and from Glasgow.
Reason for proposal: Part of a wider review of the express network. Service X26 will be rerouted to serve Dundee opening new journey opportunities whilst most X4 journeys will utilise vehicles more suitable for the busy roads around Markinch which have proven difficult for coaches. Some X4 journeys will offer a through service, without changing vehicles, on to Glasgow whilst all journeys will offer through ticketing.
Services X5: Dunfermline – Halbeath P&R – Ferrytoll P&R – non-stop to Edinburgh
Proposal: Withdraw the following journeys: 0600 Dunfermline to Edinburgh; 1720 Halbeath P&R to Edinburgh; 1550 (Friday only), 1615 & 1840 Edinburgh to Halbeath P&R.
Reason for proposal: Low passenger numbers on these dedicated park & ride journeys which are outside of the busiest ‘peak of peak’ commuter times means their continued operation is no longer viable. Frequent alternative services exist on the main Express City Connect services.
Service X24: St Andrews – Cupar – Glenrothes – Dunfermline – Kincardine – Glasgow Airport
Proposal: The 0725 Dunfermline to St Andrews Monday to Friday journey will be extended to start from Kincardine at 0700.
Reason for proposal: To reinstate the direct link to Glenrothes from West Fife at this time of morning that was lost in November 2017 when this journey was curtailed to start from Dunfermline instead of Glasgow.
Service X26: Dundee – Glenrothes – Dunfermline – Kincardine – Glasgow
Proposal: Revised route to operate from Glenrothes to Dundee via Pitlessie and Cupar. Combined with service X54 this will offer two express journeys an hour between Glenrothes, Cupar and Dundee. Service between Glenrothes and Leven is replaced by hourly service X4 (see above).
Reason for proposal: The revised express network will open up links from Forth Valley and West Fife to Dundee. Whilst passenger numbers from Leven to Glasgow are low the provision of the X4 connections, and a small number of direct services, will offer an alternative.
Service X27: Kirkcaldy – Dunfermline – Kincardine – Glasgow
Proposal: Small number of changes to early morning and evening journeys with some now no longer extending to/from Leven.
Service type: Commercial.
Reason for proposal: To reflect the current usage of the service.
Service X37: Chapel – Fife Central Retail Park – Kirkcaldy – Glenrothes
Proposal: Service to extend to Fife Central Retail Park and Chapel via the current service 15 route. The link between North Glenrothes and Asda/Morrisons will continue to be provided by the improved service 37A. Services to Kirkcaldy and from Kirkcaldy will operate in a one way loop around Cadham, Balfarg, Pitcairn and Collydean with the 37A operating in the alternative direction.
Reason for proposal: To provide direct journeys from Glenrothes to Fife Central Retail Park in response to customer requests. There are minor changes to evening and Sunday service 37/37A journeys with journeys previously withdrawn now reinstated.
Service X51: Dunfermline – Ferrytoll P&R – Livingston – Harthill – Eurocentral – Glasgow
Proposal: Extend service to Glasgow via Harthill and Eurocentral.
Reason for proposal: By introducing an extended route and peak time journeys from Fife we hope to attract new customers to this service. For the first time Ferrytoll will offer departures to Glasgow, improving connectivity for Dalgety Bay, Inverkeithing and Rosyth. The extended routing will serve the Kirkton industrial area of Livingston in addition to the employment area at Eurocentral prior to reaching Glasgow via the newly enhanced M8. This will also create new bus links between Livingston and both Eurocentral and Glasgow which are not catered for at the current time. The current hourly frequency is maintained.
Service X53: Glenrothes – Cupar – Dundee – Ninewells Hospital
Proposal: Service replaced by improved express services X26 and X54. Invergowrie and Kingoodie will be served by improved Stagecoach Strathtay services 39, 39A.
Reason for proposal: Whilst this service proves a number of useful links it does not offer particularly fast end to end journey times and this detracts from its attractiveness. The combination of revised services X26 and X54 connecting with the X37 at Glenrothes will offer substantially faster journey times between Kirkcaldy and Dundee albeit regarding a change of vehicles at Glenrothes bus station. Service X54 will be rerouted via Ladybank, Cupar and Newport after requests following the 2016 changes whilst it will extend in Dundee to serve Ninewells Hospital. Evening journeys on the service 53 will remain in place. The current frequencies between Glenrothes, Cupar, Dundee and Ninewells would remain as present.
Service X54: Dundee – Cupar – Glenrothes – Halbeath P&R – Ferrytoll P&R – Edinburgh
Proposal: Shorten journey times between Edinburgh and Glenrothes through discontinuing the diversion via Thornton. From Glenrothes to Dundee it will follow the current X53 routing and then extend from the city centre to Ninewells Hospital. The current route via Pitlessie will be replaced by revised service X26.
Reason for proposal: The route was revised to serve Thornton in June 2017 in response to customer requests for a direct service between Thornton and Edinburgh, following the withdrawal of service X61 in August 2016 which provided such a link. However usage from Thornton is still relatively low. As a result we are able to route via Ladybank due to numerous requests for the Edinburgh facility from this location.
Service X56: Perth – Kinross – Kelty – Halbeath P&R – Ferrytoll P&R – non-stop to Edinburgh
Proposal: Reduce journey times between Ferrytoll P&R and West End Queensferry Street, with minor adjustments to the timetable as a result.
Reason for proposal: To provide a faster journey for customers travelling the full route from Perth.
Service X58/X60: St Andrews – Leven – Kirkcaldy – Ferrytoll P&R – Edinburgh
Proposal: Following the re-opening of Hope Street in Inverkeithing, which was partially closed for work on the railway bridge, the route will revert to serving Inverkeithing Square and Hope Street.
Reason for proposal: Restoration of previous links following roadworks.
Perth & Blairgowrie area
Service 8/9: North Muirton – Perth – Aviva
Proposal: Revised timetable, with the off-peak frequency reduced slightly from every 10 to every 12 minutes. The peak time frequency will remain every 10 minutes.
Reason for proposal: To address reliability issues experienced since the November 2017 timetable change by giving buses more time to complete their journeys.
Service 16: Dundee – Incture – Perth
Proposal: Service replaced by extended service 39.
Reason for proposal: To improve efficiency and effectiveness through better use of resources by enabling this service to be operated by Arbroath depot as an extension of service 39.
Service 56: Dunfermline – Kelty – Kinross – Bridge of Earn – Perth
Proposal: Extend to Dunfermline.
Service type: Partly contracted (evening and Sunday).
Reason for proposal: To meet customer requests for a direct link from Kinross to Dunfermline.
Service 57: Dundee – Blairgowrie – Perth
Proposal: The 0658 Alyth to Perth and 0815 Perth to Blairgowrie Saturday journeys will run 10 minutes earlier.
Reason for proposal: To give an earlier arrival time into Blairgowrie for those starting work at 0900.
Service 59: Dundee – Coupar Angus – Blairgowrie
Proposal: The 0843 Blairgowrie Wellmeadow to Dundee journey now operates via the normal route to Coupar Angus instead of diverting via Blairgowrie Community Campus.
Reason for proposal: To improve punctuality on Service 59.
Service X56: Perth – Kinross – Kelty – Halbeath P&R – Ferrytoll P&R – non-stop to Edinburgh
Proposal: Reduce journey times between Ferrytoll P&R and West End Queensferry Street, with minor adjustments to the timetable as a result.
Reason for proposal: To provide a faster journey for customers travelling the full route from Perth.
Dundee & Angus area
Service 20/21: Dundee – Forfar – Kirriemuir or Edzell
Proposal: Minor timetable adjustments to some afternoon peak time journeys and evening journeys. Morning journey via Dundee College (Kingsway) renumbered 20D, and runs via Provost Road and Dens Road instead of Clepington Road and Arklay Street. Afternoon journey from Dundee at 1555 retimed to 1600, and runs via Dundee College (Kingsway) on college days as service 21D.
Reason for proposal: To improve reliability and provide service to college students following request.
Service 27: Forfar – Letham – Arbroath
Proposal: Minor timetable amendments to include some additional journeys serving Cliffburn. Late evening journey from Forfar retimed to maintain connection with service 20 from Dundee.
Reason for proposal: To provide alternative facilities at key times in place of service 44, which we propose to withdraw.
New Service 30: Edzell – Brechin – Montrose – Arbroath
Proposal: Reintroduce this service that was amalgamated into service 39 in August 2017. An additional morning peak journey from Brechin to Arbroath is introduced for commuters and students.
Reason for proposal: Services 30 & 39 were previously merged to enable through journeys at Arbroath without having to change bus. Whilst this was welcomed by many there have been ongoing issues with the use of double deckers on the route, necessary for demand on some journeys, and the low bridge at Inverkeilor. We therefore plan to reintroduce service 30 between Arbroath and Edzell/Stracathro Hospital, with service 39 operating to/from Arbroath only, so that double deck buses can be used on the busy service 39 route as required. Frequency remains hourly.
Service 32: Midgrip Cottages – Montrose – Angus College
Proposal: Service continues but is renumbered 30C as part of the new 30 timetable (see above)
Reason for proposal: Wider revision of the coastal corridor and travel options for college students.
Service 39: Arbroath – Dundee – Inchture – Errol – Perth
Proposal: Extend service to Perth, replacing service 16. Terminate all journeys at Arbroath, with the section to Edzell/Stracathro Hospital replaced by new service 30.
Reason for proposal: Between Dundee and Perth, the service will be extended following the service 16 route to replace this service. This will offer a combination of three journeys per hour (combined with X7) between Arbroath and Ninewells Hospital. Some journeys will then extend to Kingoodie, replacing service X53, via the Technology Park, replacing the X8.
Service 43/43A: Arbroath – Kirkton & Timmergreens
Proposal: Revised route and timetable
Reason for proposal: Following customer requests, the route and timetable has been revised to serve Morrisons.
Service 44: Arbroath – Cliffburn
Proposal: Withdraw service.
Reason for proposal: Passenger numbers on service 44 are low and therefore Cliffburn can no longer sustain a combined half hourly service (services 27 and 44 at present). We therefore intend to withdraw this service whilst introducing some additional service 27 journeys added at key times.
Service 47: Hillside – Montrose – Ferryden
Proposal: Revised timetable. Weekday journeys between 1530 & 1730 retimed.
Reason for proposal: Following the change to school hours at Montrose Academy, afternoon journeys have been adjusted to suit.
Service 75: Ethiebeaton Park – Broughty Ferry – Dundee
Proposal: Withdraw service.
Reason for proposal: Low passenger numbers means the continued operation of this service is no longer viable.
Service X7: Aberdeen – Stonehaven – Montrose – Arbroath – Dundee – Perth
Proposal: This service will be revised to serve the stops at Glendoick (Garden Centre stop towards Dundee and Glendoick Flyover stop towards Perth).
Reason for proposal: To maintain links with Glendoick currently provided by service X8.
Service X8: Arbroath – Dundee – Perth
Proposal: Withdraw service.
Reason for proposal: This service was introduced to supplement service X7 along the busy Arbroath – Dundee section of route, to promote passenger growth. However the additional capacity has proved mostly unneeded and passenger numbers have not grown adequately to justify its continued provision. It is therefore proposed this service be withdrawn, with service X7 maintaining the link for Glendoick and service 39A offering links to the Technology Park.