Stagecoach proposes sweeping changes to north-east bus services
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Passengers only have until Thursday, July 6 to respond to a raft of changes being proposed by bus operator Stagecoach in the north-east.
The company which continues to see daily shortages of drivers across its services in the north-east and Highlands has announced that: "The proposed changes aim to reflect the level of customer demand in different areas and ensure that the network can operate sustainably.
"The proposals come following an extensive review of the network and travel patterns.
"Many of the proposed revisions have been developed with customer and staff feedback, whilst others follow on from a recent tendering exercise by Aberdeenshire Council, who provide financial support for a number of bus services across the region.
"Stagecoach plans to introduce the new timetables in August 2023, once feedback from customers has been gathered and final adjustments have been made."
West Aberdeenshire
Service 9 Aberdeen-Blackburn-Inverurie - Revised timetable with no changes to service frequency
Service 10/10A/10B Aberdeen - Elgin - Inverness - Revised simplified daytime timetable running hourly throughout the daytime between Inverness, Elgin and Aberdeen. Revised evening timetable with the last journey from Aberdeen at 2300 Monday to Saturday operating as Service 10B through to Elgin.
Service 35/X35 Aberdeen - Banff - Elgin - Inverness - Revised timetable with the Service extending through to Inverness Monday to Saturday. Revised stopping arrangements within Aberdeen City Boundary. New Service X35 that will operate a limited stop Service between Aberdeen and Banff. Within Aberdeen Service X35 will operate a revised route within the City between ARI and the City Centre and will serve Union Terrace.
Service 35/X35 will combine to offer a Service upto every 30 minutes during the daytime between Banff and Aberdeen. The last Service leaving Aberdeen Monday to Sunday will now be at 2245. On Sundays there will be a slight reduction in frequency between Banff and Aberdeen.
Service 37 Inverurie-Kintore - Revised timetable with no changes to service frequency, improving connections with services 9 and 10.
Service X20 Aberdeen-Kemnay-Alford - Additional journeys will be added on schooldays; 0825 Kemnay to Aberdeen and 1415 Aberdeen to Kemnay. This will provide an improved frequency at busy times.
Service 41 Insch-Inverurie - Changes to timetable.
Service 422 Insch-Alford - Changes to timetable.
Service 219 Strathdon-Alford Academy - This service will no longer be operated by Stagecoach following changes to Aberdeenshire Council contracts.
Buchan
X60/X63/61 Aberdeen-Ellon/Newburgh-Peterhead - Timetables have been revised to improve service punctuality.
On Sundays, services X60 and X63 will be replaced by service 61, operating consistently throughout the day.
X67/X68 Aberdeen-Ellon-Mintlaw-Fraserburgh - Timetables have been revised to improve service punctuality.
On weekdays, services between Aberdeen and Fraserburgh will be revised to operate hourly (as X68) between the morning and evening peak periods. Service X67 will operate between Aberdeen and Ellon during this period. Frequency of services at the busiest commuting times is not affected.
Service X65 Aberdeen-Balmedie-Ellon (replaces services 50 and 53) - This new service will provide a fast connection between Aberdeen, Balmedie, Foveran and the centre of Ellon. Connections are particularly improved for customers in Foveran and Balmedie. Journeys on service 53A (Balmedie-Ellon Academy) will be retained on service X65. This new route replaces services 50 and 53.
Service 66 Peterhead-Mintlaw-Stuartfield/Maud - Timetables have been revised to improve service punctuality. Service 66A journeys via Torterston will no longer operate due to very low passenger numbers. This will improve journey times for the majority of customers. Following customer feedback, additional weekday journeys have been added to provide a service from Mintlaw Academy towards Peterhead in the afternoons.
Service 49 Ellon-Oldmeldrum-Inverurie - This service will no longer be operated by Stagecoach following changes to Aberdeenshire Council contracts.
Service 50 Aberdeen-Newburgh-Ellon - This service will no longer be operated by Stagecoach following changes to Aberdeenshire Council contracts. The route will be partially replaced by new service X65.
Service 52 Ellon Town Service - This service will no longer be operated by Stagecoach following changes to Aberdeenshire Council contracts.
Service 53 Aberdeen-Balmedie-Ellon - This service will no longer be operated by Stagecoach following changes to Aberdeenshire Council contracts. The route will be partially replaced by new service X65.
Service 54 Ellon Town Service - This service will no longer be operated by Stagecoach following changes to Aberdeenshire Council contracts.
Service 55 Ellon-Modley Avenue - This service will no longer be operated by Stagecoach following changes to Aberdeenshire Council contracts.
Service 292 Ellon-Methlick - Unfortunately, this service will be withdrawn due to very low passenger numbers.
Deeside
Service 201 (Aberdeen-Banchory-Ballater-Braemar) - This service will be revised to operate hourly between Aberdeen and Ballater, and up to every 30 minutes between Aberdeen and Banchory.
The route will be revised within Banchory, with Raemoir Road mainly served by the shorter journeys to Banchory only. This will reduce the journey time for customers travelling towards Ballater. Buses between Ballater and Braemar will continue to operate every 2 hours; however, on weekdays and Saturdays they will operate as a shuttle service (202), connecting to Aberdeen buses at Ballater Golf Road. Customers will be able to connect between buses at Ballater for no additional cost, and advertised connections will be guaranteed.
On Sundays, journeys will continue towards Braemar every 2 hours. Following the recent decision by Aberdeenshire Council to withdraw funding for Braemar services on Sundays, Stagecoach is pleased to confirm that these journeys will operate seasonally on a commercial basis until Sunday 29th October, returning in April 2024.
Regrettably, all journeys serving Lumphanan and Tarland and most journeys serving Torphins will be withdrawn. Unfortunately, passenger numbers on these sections are not sufficient to maintain the current level of service.
A consultation has already begun for services on the Aberdeen-Portlethen-Stonehaven corridor (https://www.stagecoachbus.com/service-updates/serviceupdatesarticle?SituationId=ID-20/06/2023-11:14:18:918).
Feedback can be submitted via email to bluebird.consultations@stagecoach.com before Thursday July 6.
Call: 0345 241 8000 between 8am and 6pm from Monday to Friday.
Calls are charged at geographic rates (the same as 01/02 numbers) and are included in call packages from both landlines and mobiles.
