Cullen consultation shines spotlight on plans to drive m.connect bus service success story onwards
Major changes to a Moray-wide on-demand bus service took centre stage at a local consultation session.
Cullen Community Centre played host on Friday, February 7 to the drop-in event showcasing how the region’s m.connect on-demand and timetabled bus service is set to expand.
Of particular interest to many was the 309 service, which links communities from Cullen to Portgordon - including Buckie - with Keith railway station.
The expansion forms part of the Bus Revolution project, launched in 2023, which is part of Moray’s £100 million Growth Deal. The project is funded through £4 million from the Scottish Government and £300,000 from Moray Council.
Initially, this heralded the extension of operating hours of existing services, introducing a new timetabled service, unveiling a real-time booking and management capability, the use of electric vehicles on m.connect routes and a revised zonal fare structure.
Phase 2 sees proposed expansions and changes, to be implemented in spring 2025. Among the benefits set to accrue from this is a Saturday on-demand service connecting the Buckie area with Keith.
Passengers can book journeys via the app - through which, to date, over half of all journey booking have been made - or by phoning 0300 123 4565.
One of those on hand to explain how the service is about to change was Stevie Robertson, Senior Project Manager of Bus Revolution, who noted that the 309 service has proved hugely popular after a slow start.
He continued: “In the first couple of months after the route launched in 2023 we were only seeing 300 to 400 passengers a month and we did kind of wonder what was going on.
“However, by the end of the first year we were seeing around 600 passengers a month.
“Year two, though, has blown this out of the water and we’re forecasting an average of 1000 passengers a month. It's really, really strong patronage and, hopefully, long may that continue.
“By placing an on-demand service in that area [309 service] on the Saturdays, we can then monitor where the journey patterns would occur, which would then inform future decision-making and service developments on the weekends. So basically, it won't be a timetable on a Saturday, but if folk want to go say from Cullen to Keith, then they can just do the on-demand.”
Mr Robertson went on to say that the on-demand side of the service had also been a huge success. In the days of m.connect’s predecessor, Dial M, the Buckie-Cullen area only attracted in the region of 180 journeys per month whereas now it regularly averages in the order of 480. January, somewhat surprisingly, proved to be a peak month with 615 journeys recorded.
He said: “Buckie and Keith have shown the most growth in the area for all the services that we introduced in phase 1 which is really, really encouraging.
“Dial M used to attract around 45,500 journeys a year across Moray; when we introduced phase 1 of m.connect this grew by 10,000 passengers. By the end of year two, we’re forecasting that will rise to 76,000 passengers, which is huge growth.”
He added that the response to the consultation sessions so far had been particularly good where m.connect had introduced brand new services, including Forres, Burghead, Hopeman and Lossiemouth.
Also among the changes in the pipeline are: A full redesign of m.connect timetabled services in Speyside offering an increase in frequency of service and improved connectivity; Extended bus service from Kingston to Elgin connecting Larch Court, Hamilton Gardens, Morriston Road into the centre of Elgin; Introduction of Saturday services in Speyside; Procurement of an additional four fully-accessible, 16-seat vehicles; Expanded EV charging infrastructure for m.connect vehicles.
Further drop-ins are planned across Moray over the next few weeks, with Buckie Library scheduled to host a session on February 18 from 10am-1pm.
Other sessions scheduled across Moray are: February 19, Tomintoul Library, 10am-1pm; February 28, Lossiemouth Community Trust, 8A Pitgaveny Street, 10am-1pm; March 5, Forres Community Centre, 10am-1pm; March 26, Speyside Community Centre, 10am-1pm.
Details for four sessions in March - at Burghead, Kinloss, Findhorn and Hopeman - have, at the time of writing, yet to be confirmed.
Updates to the m.connect service and consultation times can be found at www.moray.gov.uk/mconnect
