Ember: Electric coach service

[Deerfold]

I'm not sure if running it as a standard service would be permitted as the council may see it as competing with their subsidised local service.

That may mean they reduce their subsidised service, but I don't think they could stop the service being registered.

 

[Glasgowbusguy]

That may mean they reduce their subsidised service, but I don't think they could stop the service being registered.

If a commercial service runs the subsidised service must not compete

 

[scottishtrains]

Routeone reports that Ember is now doing private hires

Been known for ages

 

[overthewater]

It seems Ember is too popular down in Bridge of Earn, I'm surprised people are dumping thier cars in the village? We might get a new park n ride out of it.

Bridge of Earn residents hit out at parking issues since arrival of Ember bus service

Ember services to Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen regularly stop in the Perthshire village.

www.thecourier.co.uk

Concerns have been raised about the impact Ember buses are having on parking in a Perthshire village. The electric coach operator has been running services from Bridge of Earn to Dundee, Edinburgh and Ingliston, near Edinburgh Airport, since February 2022. It now provides up to two buses in each direction to the village, with additional services to Aberdeen. There are also some services through the night.

A nearby resident, who didn’t want to be named, contacted The Courier to raise his concerns. He said: “We don’t want to see it going because it’s been a great benefit.

“But the problem is people are being attracted into the village to get the bus and go away on holiday or to Edinburgh for the day. “They’re bringing in loads of cars and folk are parking on corners. “The council’s idea is to put lines down to stop people parking, but the cars are going to have to go elsewhere. “Local infrastructure is just not there for this volume of cars.

“We have friends who use the stop and I expect they might be coming from other surrounding areas.” He continued: “During the October holidays we had up to six cars outside our house and there were some who left their car there for two weeks. “You’ve got people coming and going all through the night. “Other people have said people have turned in their driveway.”

He suggested a park and ride facility off a roundabout near the Oudenarde development would be the “obvious answer” to the issues. “It’s still pretty close to Bridge of Earn and it’s right off the motorway”, he added.

Buses wouldn’t have to go far off the route. “It would encourage people to not park in residential areas.” Other local residents were positive about the Ember service, but said parking could prove “dangerous”.

One said parked cars made it difficult to see oncoming traffic at junctions, and also backed a park and ride as a possible solution. Jim Fairlie, SNP Perthshire South and Kinross-shire MSP recently met with Earn Community Council to discuss the parking issues. He said: “It’s great to see the service being so well used – a real boost for green local travel – but the knock-on impact on nearby residents simply isn’t sustainable. “There was clear consensus from everyone at the meeting that a practical solution needs to be found, and several options are now being explored. “I hope to meet with Ember soon to look at what part they can play in helping us get this resolved.”

Keith Bradbury, co-founder of Ember, told The Courier: “We know passengers arrive via many modes and this is an important part of remaining accessible to as many people as possible. “Due to the demand-responsive nature of our network, we only call in to Bridge of Earn when there are passengers wanting to get on or off, which reduces unnecessary vehicle movements, especially during the night when we call in far less.”
Perth and Kinross Council said it was “aware of the concerns” and was considering further options. A spokesperson said: “Works have already been undertaken in the vicinity of the bus stop to realign the road junction and improve vehicle movements. “We are also looking at introducing waiting restrictions to deter inappropriate parking. “One of our actions from mobility strategy is to explore the potential for parking areas outside town centres, including park and ride, to help improve accessibility and reduce congestion. “The location for any such facility would have to have safe access and be somewhere both bus services and the local community would use. “We would continue to encourage residents to report any concerns around parking to us so these issues can be investigated and appropriate actions taken, such as additional patrols.”

 

[Davester50]

It seems Ember is too popular down in Bridge of Earn, I'm surprised people are dumping thier cars in the village? We might get a new park n ride out of it.

Bridge of Earn residents hit out at parking issues since arrival of Ember bus service

Ember services to Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen regularly stop in the Perthshire village.

www.thecourier.co.uk

I think this is an issue when these "disrupters" who won't pay for facilities turn up in places that slowly become park and rides or use facilities that aren't suitable.
It's more than just the Brig. Dundee West is the same for Ember, and coach parking outside the old Debenhams in Dundee blocking the carriageway at times for Flixbus.

 

[overthewater]

The Scottish Government should be building more Park n Rides, its clear as day, if you build it, they will come.

 

[Davester50]

The Scottish Government should be building more Park n Rides, its clear as day, if you build it, they will come.

Agreed, it would be nice if the companies paid for facilities too.

 

[route101]

I think this is an issue when these "disrupters" who won't pay for facilities turn up in places that slowly become park and rides or use facilities that aren't suitable.
It's more than just the Brig. Dundee West is the same for Ember, and coach parking outside the old Debenhams in Dundee blocking the carriageway at times for Flixbus.

Maxim Park is one stop on the Citylink network which needs a Park and Ride for people going to Edinburgh or the Airport.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Nov 2025 ==

Used two Ember services today. Noticed seat numbers lit up on the bigger coaches. I hope they are not bringing in seat reservations.

 

[AndrewTaylor95]

Maxim Park is one stop on the Citylink network which needs a Park and Ride for people going to Edinburgh or the Airport.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Nov 2025 ==

Used two Ember services today. Noticed seat numbers lit up on the bigger coaches. I hope they are not bringing in seat reservations.

They've always been there lit up they are lit when the big interior lights are off lol

 

[route101]

They've always been there lit up they are lit when the big interior lights are off lol

Yeah, first time I've been on at night.

I found the seats pretty comfortable. Found it odd they dont serve the bus stances at Fort William.

 

[paravostok]

Yeah, first time I've been on at night.

I found the seats pretty comfortable. Found it odd they dont serve the bus stances at Fort William.

I think it's so they can charge their buses while they're passive, aswell as avoiding any potential charges for using the bus station

 

[David M]

The Scottish Government should be building more Park n Rides, its clear as day, if you build it, they will come.

Sherriffhall would seem to contradict that theory.

 

[Flip Lo]

Sheriffhall is busy most weekdays, it's just weekends that they are quite quiet. Although, the services out of Sheriffhall have gotten significantly worse after the old 48 cancellation and the 49 being shortened to the Royal Infirmary.

 

[Metal Mickey]

I remember the X48 from Sheriffhall to Ingliston via Princes Street.

 

[overthewater]

Sherriffhall would seem to contradict that theory.

Is it Straiton your thinking off?

Most other park n rides around Edinburgh could do with more spaces, especially the one's on the west side.

 

[route101]

Is it Straiton your thinking off?

Most other park n rides around Edinburgh could do with more spaces, especially the one's on the west side.

Passed Straiton last Saturday and it looked quiet in terms of parked cars.

 

[smsm1]

Passed Straiton last Saturday and it looked quiet in terms of parked cars.

The bus services are now only on the main road as that one is so quiet.

 

[Rab Smith]

It’s no surprise that they are looking at ways to increase revenue after racking up losses of over £2m in each of their last two financial years. I’d assume their investors will start to look for a return at some point.

That may go some way to explaining why a lot of their coaches are running around with nobody on them.

 

[Sealink]

Another highlight - Ember will be running buses on Boxing Day, and 2nd January.

I'm particularly interested in Caithess here, as ScotRail are running one train to Caithness on 2nd.

Stagecoach X99 not running 25/26 December or 1/2 January as usual.

 

[Porty]

Another highlight - Ember will be running buses on Boxing Day, and 2nd January.

I'm particularly interested in Caithess here, as ScotRail are running one train to Caithness on 2nd.

Stagecoach X99 not running 25/26 December or 1/2 January as usual.

4 services each way Caithness to Inverness on 26 Dec and 2 Jan - starting around 4am.

 

[Highland050261]

With Hairy Haggis Tours going bust, I wonder if Ember will buy their two Citylink GTe14s, as they’re still fairly new.

 

[scottishtrains]

With Hairy Haggis Tours going bust, I wonder if Ember will buy their two Citylink GTe14s, as they’re still fairly new.

That could be a good shout for ember but are they the same spec inside?

 

[N1]

With Hairy Haggis Tours going bust, I wonder if Ember will buy their two Citylink GTe14s, as they’re still fairly new.

I wonder if the ScotZEB 2 conditions still apply if the coaches are bought by another operator. I actually don't know the conditions imposed in ScotZEB 2 on private hire, presumably they just had to be operated from Scotland?

 

[Volvodart]

I wonder if the ScotZEB 2 conditions still apply if the coaches are bought by another operator. I actually don't know the conditions imposed in ScotZEB 2 on private hire, presumably they just had to be operated from Scotland?

That is the case with this round, the current round must be used in public services.

 

[Dfatcontroller]

With Hairy Haggis Tours going bust, I wonder if Ember will buy their two Citylink GTe14s, as they’re still fairly new.

Ive heard a deal may have been done with Ember for the pair.
They are apparently parked up at First's Caledonia Depot at the moment.

 

[Stan Drews]

With Hairy Haggis Tours going bust, I wonder if Ember will buy their two Citylink GTe14s, as they’re still fairly new.

Pelican have certainly been in touch with a number of operators regarding that pair of coaches, but as far as I know they haven't yet appeared with a new operator.

 

[Spsf3232]

Pelican have certainly been in touch with a number of operators regarding that pair of coaches, but as far as I know they haven't yet appeared with a new operator.

The HHT number plates have been removed as they no longer pull on DVLA

 

[Bus9120UK]

The HHT number plates have been removed as they no longer pull on DVLA

One is SM25 EHT, the other looks like SM25 EHS

 

[JohnMcL7]

I had my first trip on one of the Ember buses to take a day trip to Edinburgh and was curious about how their operation works. I've found some press details explaining the Aberdeen and Dundee charging hubs with plans to add more charging areas at other destinations but not much else. The website lists the buses as having a 350 mile range, one came from Dundee I think to Edinburgh, dropped off passengers then picked us up, headed up to Inverness where I departed then according to the map the bus headed back down to Edinburgh although it may have been a different one. I was wondering how they fit in the charging and how long a route they do before charging. I also noticed despite the buses being fairly quiet on the trips I took when I check the map now, they seem to be running through the night and it's possible to book tickets on these overnight buses. Looking at the tickets available there doesn't seem to be much demand for these services although I wondered if they were being used to shuffle the buses to suitable positions for charging but I don't think so.

Edit - I somehow completely missed there was a bus forum so had started a thread in the other transport forum, I see the 24 hour running has been discussed already but still curious how they work in the charging

 

[Sealink]

I had my first trip on one of the Ember buses to take a day trip to Edinburgh and was curious about how their operation works. I've found some press details explaining the Aberdeen and Dundee charging hubs with plans to add more charging areas at other destinations but not much else. The website lists the buses as having a 350 mile range, one came from Dundee I think to Edinburgh, dropped off passengers then picked us up, headed up to Inverness where I departed then according to the map the bus headed back down to Edinburgh although it may have been a different one. I was wondering how they fit in the charging and how long a route they do before charging. I also noticed despite the buses being fairly quiet on the trips I took when I check the map now, they seem to be running through the night and it's possible to book tickets on these overnight buses. Looking at the tickets available there doesn't seem to be much demand for these services although I wondered if they were being used to shuffle the buses to suitable positions for charging but I don't think so.

As a non driver, I will be using a 00:00 bus to Inverness than an 04.30 service to Caithness - for me it is pretty revolutionary that buses run 24 hours.
I do wonder about how sustainable it is, or when awareness will sink in among the travelling public.