Stagecoach North Scotland (Bluebird and Highland)

According to this article negotiations for the sale had been ongoing since July 2025 and neither Highland Council nor Citylink were interested in the X99

However, Highland Council subsequently confirmed that it did not wish to acquire the X99 operation or the vehicles associated with the service.

“We also made clear to Highland Council that, given the financial position of the X99, we would explore whether Citylink wished to operate the service.

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Imagine a politician being economical with the truth!

Stagecoach ‘regrets impact’ of withdrawing X99 bus service between Caithness and Inverness

Bus company Stagecoach says it recognises the impact of removing its X99 service between Caithness and Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

However, it said funding that helped Ember buses operate a competitive service on a similar route – although one that does not serve the hospital – undermined the commercial viability of its operation.

“The Scottish Government’s ScotZEB funding schemes support operators to acquire zero-emission vehicles. Stagecoach has also benefited from these schemes.

“However, where funding supports operators to introduce services on routes already served by established operators, the resulting competition can split customer numbers and undermine the commercial viability of existing services.

“This has been the experience on the X99. The reduction in customers travelling with Stagecoach means the service is no longer commercially viable to operate, leaving the company with no option but to withdraw it."

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Sealink said:

Stagecoach ‘regrets impact’ of withdrawing X99 bus service between Caithness and Inverness

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They could have applied for the same funding and improved the X99 easily enough but they didn't they chose to run over 10 year old coaches that were absolutely knackered when they went to Thurso and operated a very basic timetable which didn't suit anyone. They said they operated what they did to suit the demand but then Ember came in and proved this to be not true with a vastly increased service with better vehicles.

If we want to go down the road of comparing Stagecoach Vs Ember on funding you will find Ember has had less funding per vehicle than stagecoach has done and that's not including infrastructure funding.

One thing Ember has proved is increasing services and using better buses has brought back people to bus travel while stagecoach has gone the other way and kept reducing services and using buses that are fit for the bin because they don't see any profit from increasing it.

I'm not a big fan of Ember and how they operate some things but we can't argue that they have done extremely well in Scotland. I've seen the loadings on the E3 Vs M8 Citylink and they are way ahead. Same goes for the E5 and 915 and that's getting a service increase to cope at the moment Citylink will go to the winter timetable on the route!

Excuse me for a moment while I tune up my tiny violin. The irony of Stagecoach losing out to a more aggressive competitor is certainly not lost on me, considering the tactics that it employed in the early years.

GusB said:

Excuse me for a moment while I tune up my tiny violin. The irony of Stagecoach losing out to a more aggressive competitor is certainly not lost on me, considering the tactics that it employed in the early years.

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Indeed, introducing the megaBus brand to get rid of a one-coach a day service by Aaron's of Wick stands out for Caithness.

And of course the Magic Bus...