Ember: Electric coach service

[Sealink]

Checked some of the services and I thought this would lower the prices of say Glasgow to FW and Oban but doesn't seem so.

Booking from Glasgow to Bridge of Orchy is £13.55 and £2 to Fort William but a through ticket is £21.65 so it's cheaper to buy two tickets!

The pricing has changed since earlier. I was seeing Wick to Edinburgh for £16 etc.

 

[InOban]

Seems to be fixed now.

Seems mad to me for Scottish Government to provide fares subsidy to private bus operators to compete directly against a Scottish Government owned rail company, but I am sure someone somewhere read off a spreadsheet that including Scotrail would be 'poor value for money'.

It's mad at any time since most Scottish residents aren't paying anyway because they're either under 22 or over 60.

 

[fraser158]

Still doesn't seem to show the proper price unless you split, possibly causing unnecessary additional stops...

 

[rmHawk765]

Any app they make will likely be a crappy React Native-based thing which is literally just a website in an app, or even worse, something like the new NR app. For god's sake everything about web development nowadays is about optimising for mobile, so if the website works, an app is unnecessary.

 

[paravostok]

Seems to be fixed now.

Seems mad to me for Scottish Government to provide fares subsidy to private bus operators to compete directly against a Scottish Government owned rail company, but I am sure someone somewhere read off a spreadsheet that including Scotrail would be 'poor value for money'.

It does seem mental, I've always thought that with the Concession Scheme too, especially because one directly costs the Government money and the other doesn't.

 

[fraser158]

I'm still seeing, for example,

Inverness to Edinburgh: £19.25

or

Inverness to Dalwhinnie: £2
Dalwhinnie to Edinburgh: £12.85

Total: £14.85

 

[CMBS]

I'm still seeing, for example,

Inverness to Edinburgh: £19.25

or

Inverness to Dalwhinnie: £2
Dalwhinnie to Edinburgh: £12.85

Total: £14.85

The fare cap only applies for the journey within the Highlands, the remaining length of the journey is at the normal fare.

 

[scotrail170434]

I'm still seeing, for example,

Inverness to Edinburgh: £19.25

or

Inverness to Dalwhinnie: £2
Dalwhinnie to Edinburgh: £12.85

Total: £14.85

Should be sorted tommorow morning.

 

[Spsf3232]

The fare cap only applies for the journey within the Highlands, the remaining length of the journey is at the normal fare.

The message on Facebook from Ember and the same from Citylink said that the fare cap would apply for the portion of the trip within the region so should reduce the fares overall

 

[davp]

Should be sorted tommorow morning.

I asked and they said they're still working on it.

Saw they are advertising for Livingston drivers. I wonder if Livingston is going to see a service at some point (https://ember.recruitee.com/o/intercity-bus-and-coach-driver-livingston)

Intercity Bus and Coach Driver - Livingston​

• On-site
• • Livingston, West Lothian, United Kingdom
• £15.5 - £16.9 per hour
• Driving and Support

Job detailsApply

Job description​

Various start dates available from March 2026.
Ember is the UK's first fully-electric, zero-emission coach company. We launched in October 2020 and are now running multiple routes across Scotland. We’ll soon be adding more, and we're delighted to confirm that Livingston will be our next location.

We're looking for the very best and most professional drivers across Scotland to join the Ember team. Whether you have a passion for electric vehicles or simply for great customer service, we'd love to hear from you. We'll be growing a pioneering team in Livingston and it's really important to us that we find people who are truly motivated to be a key part of a company that is proving that things can be done differently.

We're a fast growing company with a track record of success, so this is an exciting time to join the future of public transport!

Responsibilities
As a driver, you're on the front-line. Not only will you be responsible for keeping the coach moving, you'll be the main point of contact for customers if they have any issues or need help. We're looking for resourceful and motivated individuals who will be solution-focussed and highly motivated to get any day to day challenges resolved.

You should enjoy working with people and take pride in doing what it takes to deliver a great experience (as well as driving of course). That might mean helping someone with their bags, keeping the coach spick and span or making an effort to say a cheery 'hello' when people board.

We've built lots of new technology to help ensure customers get the best experience possible. That means you'll need to be open to learning new systems and using them in the correct way.

As a small business, we put a lot of trust into our drivers. We expect you to take pride in the work that you do and this will involve light cleaning duties throughout the day to keep our coaches in top condition. We are also evolving fast, so love people that want to give input into how we can do things better and who do this in a thoughtful, constructive way.

Benefits* (pay rates effective from 4 May 2026)

• £15.50 per hour starting rate.
• £16.30 per hour after one year - we reward those who want to make a long term career.
• £16.90 per hour if you become an Ember Ambassador - those who really live our values and give the best passenger experience.
• Relief contracts are also available - £17.36 per hour (£15.00 base rate plus additional pay in lieu of holiday)
• Overtime rates starting at £18.60 per hour.
• Free CPC renewal for full time and part time drivers
• 28 days paid annual holiday pro rata
• Flexible annual leave - request your own holiday dates rather than being assigned them
• Up to 10 days unpaid annual leave pro rata
• 20 days paid leave for sickness, jury duty, parental or other unplanned leave pro rata
• Established progression paths at a fast-growing company
• Referral scheme - get paid for referring other top drivers to us
• Friendly culture
• You'll be driving a state-of-the-art electric coach
• You’ll contribute to a hugely positive environmental impact, with every journey reducing emissions and traffic

*Quoted pay rates effective 4 May 2026. Rates until that time start from £15.00 per hour, and all rates in the interim are approximately 3.2% below the May 2026 rates listed above



Hours
Ember run a 24/7 service across Scotland, seven days per week, and you'll need to be able to rotate between a wide variety of shifts. We'll try to make these as sociable as possible and we'll give you five weeks’ notice of what the rota looks like so you have plenty of time to plan. We also frequently have overtime opportunities available at shorter notice.

Next Steps
Get in touch if you think you might be the right fit or learn more about Ember at www.ember.to.

Job requirements​

Requirements
You will need to meet these basic requirements:

• Full PCV licence: Category D as a minimum
• Up to date CPC and a digital tachograph card (or able to get both quickly)
• Able to demonstrate high-quality driving, including smooth braking and a commitment to safety
• Flexibility to work early, late or night shifts on any day of the week. In return, we'll try to make these as sociable as possible and agree them well in advance

 

[Spsf3232]

I asked and they said they're still working on it.

Saw they are advertising for Livingston drivers. I wonder if Livingston is going to see a service at some point (https://ember.recruitee.com/o/intercity-bus-and-coach-driver-livingston)

Livingston drivers are currently based out of Lost Shore and operate the Inverness service.

 

[Sealink]

Should be sorted tommorow morning.

Not yet. For example
GLASGOW to WATTEN is showing as £35.65 on Ember.

Whereas
GLASGOW to DALWHINNIE is £13.75
DALWHINNIE to WATTEN is £4.00

Searching for Glasgow to Watten should therefore come up as £17.75

-------
GLASGOW to WICK is showing as £29.50 with Citylink (they don't run to Watten!)

However
GLASGOW to DALWHINNIE is £27.50
DALWHINNIE to WICK is £4
So an Citylink, the through ticket is cheaper.

 

[Spsf3232]

Another 100 coaches to be added to Ember with the latest ScotZEB3 funding

News

Find out what's new at Ember

www.ember.to

Log In

News & Updates​

Find out what's new at Ember

company
25 Mar 2026
One Hundred New Electric Coaches for Scotland
We've been awarded £13.2m by the Scottish Government to add another 100 new electric coaches to our network. The funding is from ScotZEB3, a scheme designed to accelerate the transition to a net-zero transport system.
This is a big moment for us. It will allow a major expansion of our network, bringing high-quality and frequent public transport to more cities, towns and villages across the country. When all of this is delivered, Ember will operate the largest intercity and regional coach network in Scotland.
We're grateful to the Scottish Government for the support. We genuinely believe ScotZEB has helped make Scotland a global leader in zero-emission coaches and buses. It means Scotland is now the only country in the world with a fully electric national coach network and is seeing the benefits, with quieter roads, lower emissions and improved air quality.
We'll have much more to say soon about the routes and locations this unlocks. But the short version is simple: more places, more often, more reasons to leave the car at home.

Why are the coaches being built in China, not Scotland?​

There has been a lot of speculation on this point so we want to answer it directly.
We would love to buy an electric coach built in Scotland and we've tried hard to make that happen over the past few years. We've approached ADL, the only bus manufacturer in Scotland, many times. Unfortunately, they've repeatedly told us they cannot offer a suitable product and have no interest in developing something for this market. To be clear, they have no electric coach on the market and have no plans to introduce one.
Instead, we've worked in partnership with Yutong. They've developed the best electric coach available and we're continuing to work with them to make it even better. They've also invested in Scotland with locally based staff and support in training our own mechanics. With ScotZEB3, they've committed to further local investment, training and fit-out work.
Of course, we remain open to building in Scotland. We genuinely believe a world-class electric coach could be built here and compete in the global market. A software-defined vehicle with the best battery technology, innovative passenger features, a lightweight body and optimised aerodynamics. But it needs the right long-term investment, support and vision.
If this resonates with anyone, please get in touch and we'd be happy to talk.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Mar 2026 ==

Not yet. For example
GLASGOW to WATTEN is showing as £35.65 on Ember.

Whereas
GLASGOW to DALWHINNIE is £13.75
DALWHINNIE to WATTEN is £4.00

Searching for Glasgow to Watten should therefore come up as £17.75

-------
GLASGOW to WICK is showing as £29.50 with Citylink (they don't run to Watten!)

However
GLASGOW to DALWHINNIE is £27.50
DALWHINNIE to WICK is £4
So an Citylink, the through ticket is cheaper.

The Glasgow to Fort William fare is now £15.55 so at least that's fixed now!

 

[overthewater]

Does that mean they are planning even more routes are is there plans to replace original 6 year old coaches?

 

[Sealink]

Another 100 coaches to be added to Ember with the latest ScotZEB3 funding

News

Find out what's new at Ember

www.ember.to

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Mar 2026 ==


The Glasgow to Fort William fare is now £15.55 so at least that's fixed now!

That's brilliant news

 

[AndrewTaylor95]

Another 100 coaches to be added to Ember with the latest ScotZEB3 funding

News

Find out what's new at Ember

www.ember.to

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Mar 2026 ==


The Glasgow to Fort William fare is now £15.55 so at least that's fixed now!

There's 60 about to be delivered imminently as well

 

[kkong]

Does that mean they are planning even more routes are is there plans to replace original 6 year old coaches?

The news article which you responded to says:

We'll have much more to say soon about the routes and locations this unlocks. But the short version is simple: more places, more often, more reasons to leave the car at home.

 

[overthewater]

To be fair that news article is related to the 60 coaches that is coming in now. The only other places for them to expand is either into fife or into Lanarkshire and Ayrshire.

 

[Porty]

To be fair that news article is related to the 60 coaches that is coming in now. The only other places for them to expand is either into fife or into Lanarkshire and Ayrshire.

News story on Ember's website with yesterday's date says the 100 extra coaches will "allow a big expansion of our network".

 

[Megafuss]

Given the sour grapes, If Ember launch something like a Large/Gourock/Wemyss Bay to Glasgow service, I want to see live pictures from McGills towers

 

[overthewater]

I can only say I'll have to put my hand up and say I've got confused. This is ONE HELL of an expansion there have been doing, and there will have to go south now to find new areas.

 

[Volvodart]

I can only say I'll have to put my hand up and say I've got confused. This is ONE HELL of an expansion there have been doing, and there will have to go south now to find new areas.

The funding is for Scottish regulated local service routes,

 

[Spsf3232]

Think it's safe to say the next locations will be Edinburgh to Oban, Inverness to Ullapool and Perth to Aberdeen via Angus coast.

Hopefully after the new hubs are up and running in Glasgow and Livingston then we can see a frequency boost on the Fort William and Oban routes before heading south for Dumfries from Glasgow and Newcastle from Edinburgh

 

[overthewater]

The funding is for Scottish regulated local service routes,

To be fair Lanarkshire, Ayrshire etc is all south of thier current network I get what your meaning when we think "south" Would they be allowed to go to Carlisle?

 

[Volvodart]

To be fair Lanarkshire, Ayrshire etc is all south of thier current network I get what your meaning when we think "south" Would they be allowed to go to Carlisle?

Borders Buses is registered to go there with the X95, so I would have thought so.

 

[scottishtrains]

Given the sour grapes, If Ember launch something like a Large/Gourock/Wemyss Bay to Glasgow service, I want to see live pictures from McGills towers

would be great to see

 

[318266]

Given the sour grapes, If Ember launch something like a Large/Gourock/Wemyss Bay to Glasgow service, I want to see live pictures from McGills towers

There has long been calls for later public transport services to Inverclyde, so a 24/7 service in the common style of Ember would probably be to their benefit.

 

[padbus]

To be fair that news article is related to the 60 coaches that is coming in now. The only other places for them to expand is either into fife or into Lanarkshire and Ayrshire.

Or England?

 

[Spsf3232]

Or England?

Not with vehicles that have been purchased with ScorZeb funding. The only way they could possibly operate into England is on cross border services for Carlisle or Newcastle.

It's not to say it won't happen as Ember are currently looking at sites in the Bristol region and that would become reality if funding is available on England similar to what Scotland has

 

[overthewater]

Not with vehicles that have been purchased with ScorZeb funding. The only way they could possibly operate into England is on cross border services for Carlisle or Newcastle.

It's not to say it won't happen as Ember are currently looking at sites in the Bristol region and that would become reality if funding is available on England similar to what Scotland has

Tech the coaches built in 2021 could be used in England, there a 5 year rule is there not?