McGill’s Midland Bluebird

Most of the minor timetable changes in relation to closure of Bannockburn depot are now on Traveline Scotland. I doubt most people will notice.

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I tell a lie, there an improvement coming, Route 38 is going to every 20mins on a Sunday.

Mon 31st Aug onwards

38 Falkirk – Stirling
The Sunday frequency will be increased to run up to every 20 minutes, and a number of additional trips will be introduced each day between Larbert and Stirling primarily during the early morning and the early/late evening periods.

51 Stirling – Alloa via Tullibody
There will be some adjustments to the timetable throughout the week to help improve the punctuality of the route and provide later journeys in the evenings. The last bus from Stirling to Alloa will now run at 2300 on Monday to Saturday, and 2200 on Sundays. The last bus from Alloa to Stirling will now run at 2323 on Monday to Saturday, and 2223 on Sundays.

52 Stirling – Alloa via Alva & Tillicoultry
The route through Sauchie will no longer operate as a one-way loop and return to operating in both directions via Gartmorn Road and Beechwood. There will be some adjustments to the timetable throughout the week to help improve the punctuality of the route and provide later journeys in the evenings. The last bus from Stirling to Alloa will now run at 2230 on Monday to Saturday, and 2130 on Sundays. The last bus from Alloa to Stirling will now run at 2228 each evening.

56 Stirling – Cowie
A revised timetable will be introduced providing a bus every 35 minutes for much of the day to help improve the punctuality of the route. The journeys leaving Stirling at 1825 and 2255 will operate as service 56A and after Bannockburn will run the opposite way through Cowie and then continue to Larbert via Plean.

X10/X10A
A revised timetable will be introduced with some minor alterations to help improve the punctuality of the route.
An earlier journey from Balfron to Stirling will be introduced on Saturday mornings, leaving Balfron at 0654. However the 0457 & 0600 journeys from Stirling on Mondays to Fridays and the 0840 journey on Saturdays will now start from Balfron, Cotton Street.

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overthewater said:

Most of the minor timetable changes in relation to closure of Bannockburn depot are now on Traveline Scotland. I doubt most people will notice.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Aug 2026 ==

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I tell a lie, there an improvement coming, Route 38 is going to every 20mins on a Sunday.

Network changes - Midland Bluebird

www.mcgillsscotlandeast.co.uk

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Just loads of positioning journeys early morning towards Stirling and towards Larbert in the evening on the 38 and the new 56A and there's a H4 as well

The information is also available on the company website under network changes.

Revised Timetables introduced on services 38, 51, 52, 56​

Mon 31st Aug onwards
38 Falkirk – Stirling
The Sunday frequency will be increased to run up to every 20 minutes, and a number of additional trips will be introduced each day between Larbert and Stirling primarily during the early morning and the early/late evening periods.

51 Stirling – Alloa via Tullibody
There will be some adjustments to the timetable throughout the week to help improve the punctuality of the route and provide later journeys in the evenings. The last bus from Stirling to Alloa will now run at 2300 on Monday to Saturday, and 2200 on Sundays. The last bus from Alloa to Stirling will now run at 2323 on Monday to Saturday, and 2223 on Sundays.

52 Stirling – Alloa via Alva & Tillicoultry
The route through Sauchie will no longer operate as a one-way loop and return to operating in both directions via Gartmorn Road and Beechwood. There will be some adjustments to the timetable throughout the week to help improve the punctuality of the route and provide later journeys in the evenings. The last bus from Stirling to Alloa will now run at 2230 on Monday to Saturday, and 2130 on Sundays. The last bus from Alloa to Stirling will now run at 2228 each evening.

56 Stirling – Cowie
A revised timetable will be introduced providing a bus every 35 minutes for much of the day to help improve the punctuality of the route. The journeys leaving Stirling at 1825 and 2255 will operate as service 56A and after Bannockburn will run the opposite way through Cowie and then continue to Larbert via Plean.

Revised Timetable on X10 & X10A​

Mon 31st Aug onwards
A revised timetable will be introduced with some minor alterations to help improve the punctuality of the route.
An earlier journey from Balfron to Stirling will be introduced on Saturday mornings, leaving Balfron at 0654. However the 0457 & 0600 journeys from Stirling on Mondays to Fridays and the 0840 journey on Saturdays will now start from Balfron, Cotton Street.

New route H4​

Mon 31st Aug onwards
This new route will provide some early morning and late evening journeys operating direct between Larbert and Alloa via the M876 and Clackmannan Bridge.

Routes extended​

Mon 31st Aug onwards
The routes of services 324 and 925 will be extended from Bannockburn to start/finish at Larbert.

Is the current X10/X10A operated from both Balfron and Bannockburn depots and will it fully move to Balfron upon the closure or will Larbert operate some journeys on it?

NorthClyde320 said:

Is the current X10/X10A operated from both Balfron and Bannockburn depots and will it fully move to Balfron upon the closure or will Larbert operate some journeys on it?

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Yes, the 5 buses required to maintain the main daytime Monday to Saturday timetable is split 3 Balfron and 2 Bannockburn. That will become 5 Balfron form 31st August.
Larbert will provide the 2 buses for the Sunday timetable, as Balfron is closed on a Sunday.

Stan Drews said:

Yes, the 5 buses required to maintain the main daytime Monday to Saturday timetable is split 3 Balfron and 2 Bannockburn. That will become 5 Balfron form 31st August.
Larbert will provide the 2 buses for the Sunday timetable, as Balfron is closed on a Sunday.

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What services does Balfron run?

Lothianbus703 said:

What services does Balfron run?

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Just the X10/X10A plus various Balfron High School contracts. Oh, and the odd journey on the C11 tendered service in Stirling in between arrivals/departures on the X10s.

Stan Drews said:

Just the X10/X10A plus various Balfron High School contracts. Oh, and the odd journey on the C11 tendered service in Stirling in between arrivals/departures on the X10s.

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Was going to mention they do some C11 runs, beat me to it lol

Stan Drews said:

Just the X10/X10A plus various Balfron High School contracts. Oh, and the odd journey on the C11 tendered service in Stirling in between arrivals/departures on the X10s.

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Do Balfron drivers still do that round trip on the 57 or is that gone now?

Does anyone know why Google Maps does not recognise that the X38 is terminating at Haymarket in Edinburgh? As of today Google Maps still plans journeys based upon the Waterloo Place start and end point.

bookkeeper6 said:

Does anyone know why Google Maps does not recognise that the X38 is terminating at Haymarket in Edinburgh? As of today Google Maps still plans journeys based upon the Waterloo Place start and end point.

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It's a temporary service change and not all temporary changes get through as a timetable update.

I visited Bo'ness for the first time on Saturday. Nice little town, but for the size of the place and especially considering the lack of a rail connection it seems to have remarkably few buses:

Midland Bluebird's 2 - every 35 minutes to Falkirk
Midland Bluebird's F45 - every 2 hours to Linlithgow
Scottish Citylink's 909 - every 2 hours to Edinburgh and Stirling, but which doesn't actually serve the town centre but rather sticks to the main road east-west through the town.

Is there a reason why the service seems so minimal compared to other similarly sized towns? Has there been recent cuts here?

Its been going down hill for the past 25 years. Bo'ness town centre, Grangemouth Town centre and Falkirk town centre are nothing to write home about. They hasn't been any recent cuts, until 2022 the F45/F46 provide a 30min service between Bo'ness and Linlithgow with only 2 buses.

Back in 2018 It used to be every 20mins to Falkirk and before 2013 it was every 15mins. Before 2001 changes they used to be no47 to Edinburgh Via South Queensferry.

The other pain point is PlusBus zones. Bo'ness is in the Linlithgow zone, yet the more frequent (and Sunday) buses are via Falkirk.

It's in a bit of an odd position McGill's fares wise due to where the boundaries are too which won't help. You need to use the all zone ticket to use the F45, which might put people off. The confusing bit is that the Forth Valley ticket is valid through to Winchburgh on the X38, but not other services in the West Lothian area (except Bo'ness).

I live in Bo’ness and the bus situation really is poor. The 909 is so unreliable, regularly 20-30 mins late all day. The F45 really should be a more frequent all day link to Linlithgow. People are forced into their cars here and it’s not right. We really need a better link to Edinburgh or Linlithgow

Half the town doesn't have a direct link to Falkirk let along Grangemouth, those place are only able to go to Linlithgow high street for a small Tesco, ( there already one in Bo'ness near the bus stance plus a Farmfoods and lidis) or Rail station. Bo'ness used to have a community bus which operated to Edinburgh before the 909, but again that never run to the timetable at times. I'm not sure what happened to that scheme.

The problems goes back before McGills come along and the roadworks have been a scandal along the route for far too long. Hopefully in 2027 service No2 might be able to go back to every 30mins. The last roll of the dice come in 2012 with Route 19 which started at Grahamsdyke, and went right along Deans road, why it never went around some of the other roads to the south I will never know. That lasted two years and was it.

No43 used to operate at peaks into Bo'ness, they where mainly depot runs but I think it was paid for by West Lothian council for Newton to get into Edinburgh in the mornings and back home at night.

overthewater said:

No43 used to operate at peaks into Bo'ness, they where mainly depot runs but I think it was paid for by West Lothian council for Newton to get into Edinburgh in the mornings and back home at night.

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yes your right the 43 used to be a West Lothian contract, but it was never a depot run. in the later years it was run out of Livingston, I used to run one of the evening services and only once did I take a passenger to Boness. After South Queensferry it was dead.

overthewater said:

Half the town doesn't have a direct link to Falkirk let along Grangemouth, those place are only able to go to Linlithgow high street for a small Tesco, ( there already one in Bo'ness near the bus stance plus a Farmfoods and lidis) or Rail station. Bo'ness used to have a community bus which operated to Edinburgh before the 909, but again that never run to the timetable at times. I'm not sure what happened to that scheme.

The problems goes back before McGills come along and the roadworks have been a scandal along the route for far too long. Hopefully in 2027 service No2 might be able to go back to every 30mins. The last roll of the dice come in 2012 with Route 19 which started at Grahamsdyke, and went right along Deans road, why it never went around some of the other roads to the south I will never know. That lasted two years and was it.

No43 used to operate at peaks into Bo'ness, they where mainly depot runs but I think it was paid for by West Lothian council for Newton to get into Edinburgh in the mornings and back home at night.

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The only viable option for Boness is for a company like ember to divert the Oban and FW services to service it as demand responsive. It's gone far too long without a proper bus service that any attempt to reintroduce one will fail as it's a heavy car reliant place and people will be unwilling to give that up.

It's an awkward place with it being out of the way of being a place to serve as part of a bigger route and just sits there far from anywhere

overthewater said:

Half the town doesn't have a direct link to Falkirk let along Grangemouth, those place are only able to go to Linlithgow high street for a small Tesco, ( there already one in Bo'ness near the bus stance plus a Farmfoods and lidis) or Rail station. Bo'ness used to have a community bus which operated to Edinburgh before the 909, but again that never run to the timetable at times. I'm not sure what happened to that scheme.

The problems goes back before McGills come along and the roadworks have been a scandal along the route for far too long. Hopefully in 2027 service No2 might be able to go back to every 30mins. The last roll of the dice come in 2012 with Route 19 which started at Grahamsdyke, and went right along Deans road, why it never went around some of the other roads to the south I will never know. That lasted two years and was it.

No43 used to operate at peaks into Bo'ness, they where mainly depot runs but I think it was paid for by West Lothian council for Newton to get into Edinburgh in the mornings and back home at night.

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Whilst they should be commended for the fleet investment in Falkirk, McGill’s have made a pig’s ear of the network in the area. Some of the main corridors into Falkirk, such as Graham’s Road, previously had up to eight journeys per hour, but they’re now timed all over the place rather than providing anything resembling an evenly combined frequency.

Running services cross-town from the east end to Graham’s Road doesn’t really work either, as First historically found out with the old 5/5A/5C and McGill’s have reverted to this with the 2. It means services have to loop around Upper Newmarket Street in both directions, making the routes unnecessarily convoluted through the town centre.

I have read that Prentice Westwood have incresed their licence at Livingston to 45 vehicles. Are they expanding their hire service or have got more school contracts.