Scottish Citylink

[markymark2000]

How busy is Flixbus right now in Scotland? However Citylink really could do with increasing the 900 as this service can be super busy. I would be surprised if people switch from Ember back to Citylink.

I can only go off data, I have not travelled up there on Flix but, for tomorrow, 94 seats out of 212 seats are sold from Glasgow to Aberdeen, 113 seats are sold from Aberdeen to Glasgow. Whether these seats become occupied though depends on how many Conc & U22 passes get on though on the day as to whether these seats get taken.

 

[Unstoppable]

Citylink only sell the amount of seats available for each vehicle. The B8 Elites are used on the same workings each day and only 49 seats can be sold for that service.
As for engine size the B8 is perfectly fine on the pull. They drop a bit of speed on certain hills but you will find even then B11 drops speed on those hills.
They also do have USB charging points at each seat so that comment is completely wrong. The charging point are between the seats so if the arm rest is down its underneath them.

Gearbox into manual and down to 11th gear before the hill normally prevents any noticeable reduction in speed if any

 

[route101]

How busy is Flixbus right now in Scotland? However Citylink really could do with increasing the 900 as this service can be super busy. I would be surprised if people switch from Ember back to Citylink.

I sometimes see the first Glasgow to Aberdeen Flixbus service and it's about quarter full at most. The Edinburgh Ember route seems to pick up good loadings. I seen a Merc Sprinter operate one of the Glasgow Ember services few weeks back.

In Scotland you are not going to get much variation in the routes. As for a 900 increase its back to every 15 minutes but it+ reverts to half hourly earlier after the evening peak.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Oct 2022 ==

They'd be able to sell upwards of 70 seats for those services if they were operated by Panoramas, though. A prime example would be a few weeks ago, the 1015 M8 from Dundee to Glasgow was a Parks Panorama yet the 1015 M9 was a small Elite (I appreciate this might've been a one-off). Yes, the bigger vehicles will have greater operating costs but this would likely be offset against the extra revenue from more bums on seats.

I stand corrected re the USB points. I must've been thinking of something else!

I still see Elites on the M9 regularly, I reckon they are on Parks of Hamilton runs.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I am another one that feels the 900 could do with a boost in some way. Very very busy indeed on all the times I've used it and each time we have a rail strike it picks up a few more new customers that it somehow seems to hold onto

 

[Unstoppable]

Glasgow to Edinburgh Princes Street non stop followed by Edinburgh Bus Station would give a journey time of approx 60 - 65 mins depending on the time of day. It also would add the option of taking various other routes such as the M9, via Ratho or the Western Approach helping during times of road chaos

 

[Blindtraveler]

And even if you only ran one of these super express sx900 journeys an hour on a clock face schedule it would certainly help ease the growing pressure on the regular 900 which can and does leave people behind on the Western fringes of the city in the mornings and evenings in particular and Sundays as well come to that

 

[FlybeDash8Q400]

Could Maxim Park be reduced to be served during the peak only? I frequently travel off peak and hardly anyone ever gets on or off outside of the peak. I’m aware there’s a possibility that Eurocentral could be part funding this though.

I myself can’t see Citylink expanding the service beyond the current every 15 minutes but maybe they will. I would like to see a half hourly or every 20 minutes 900X which could be non stop from one Bus Station to the other. I think that could be very popular.

If the regular 900 was to then serve everywhere else all at the same time then that could allow you to move people quicker. This could run every 30 minutes.

A friend of mine suggested extending the AIR through to Edinburgh city centre, and to Glasgow Airport at the other end. That would allow for connections between both cities and airports. You’d obviously have to have a limit as to what you can do with this as there’s a chance people might get on the AIR who don’t need to, thus leaving behind those who need to.

 

[route101]

Could Maxim Park be reduced to be served during the peak only? I frequently travel off peak and hardly anyone ever gets on or off outside of the peak. I’m aware there’s a possibility that Eurocentral could be part funding this though.

I myself can’t see Citylink expanding the service beyond the current every 15 minutes but maybe they will. I would like to see a half hourly or every 20 minutes 900X which could be non stop from one Bus Station to the other. I think that could be very popular.

If the regular 900 was to then serve everywhere else all at the same time then that could allow you to move people quicker. This could run every 30 minutes.

A friend of mine suggested extending the AIR through to Edinburgh city centre, and to Glasgow Airport at the other end. That would allow for connections between both cities and airports. You’d obviously have to have a limit as to what you can do with this as there’s a chance people might get on the AIR who don’t need to, thus leaving behind those who need to.

Has the 900 operated every 10 minutes before?

The problem if the AIR service runs to Edinburgh City Centre or Glasgow Airport is reliability. Also is the ticketing as the AIR service has higher fares to the airport.

If I buy a Glasgow to Edinburgh return, can I use it on a 909 that goes from Glasgow to Edinburgh?

 

[FlybeDash8Q400]

If I buy a Glasgow to Edinburgh return, can I use it on a 909 that goes from Glasgow to Edinburgh?

I think you can, but isn’t the 909 being cut back to do Stirling to Edinburgh only again soon?

 

[route101]

I think you can, but isn’t the 909 being cut back to do Stirling to Edinburgh only again soon?

Yes, that was mentioned. I have done the 909 in a few years so would like to do it and not pay for two singles.

 

[FlybeDash8Q400]

Yes, that was mentioned. I have done the 909 in a few years so would like to do it and not pay for two singles.

Yes I’m pretty sure it’s valid but no doubt you’ll probably get the driver saying ‘you’re on the wrong bus’.

I’m guessing part of the reason it’s been cut back as that it’s been awarded to another operator or it is changing depot perhaps? I know the M8/M9 are picking up the gaps though.

 

[Flying Snail]

Could Maxim Park be reduced to be served during the peak only? I frequently travel off peak and hardly anyone ever gets on or off outside of the peak. I’m aware there’s a possibility that Eurocentral could be part funding this though.

I myself can’t see Citylink expanding the service beyond the current every 15 minutes but maybe they will. I would like to see a half hourly or every 20 minutes 900X which could be non stop from one Bus Station to the other. I think that could be very popular.

If the regular 900 was to then serve everywhere else all at the same time then that could allow you to move people quicker. This could run every 30 minutes.

There is no way that a "regular" 900 would be viable if you stripped all the end to end passengers out and put them on a frequent non-stop 900, there just wouldn't be anywhere near enough passengers to continue a frequent service for the intermediate stops and without the frequent service the attractiveness of the Harthill P&R and commuting to the business parks by bus would be gone.

 

[tbtc]

1. Interesting changes by the sounds of it, i assumed pre-pandemic that CityLink were slowly giving up on the middle distance stuff, allowing gaps to be filled by the likes of the Stagecoach X56 (Edinburgh-Perth) and X7 (Perth-Aberdeen) as well as speeding up of the X54 (Edinburgh-Dundee) to avoid Dunfermline. CityLink seemed to be slowly scaling back from those kind journeys and pulling out of central Dunfermline/ Stirling/ Perth as the focus became more about fast services from Edinburgh/ Glasgow to Aberdeen/Inverness (with a stop at Halbeath/ Broxburn instead). Had the success of Ember forced them to throw more resources at places like Auchterarder, rather than ignoring smaller towns? Or is this evidence that ScotRail have finally got their finger out and provided sufficient seats on the old HSTs for the long distance passengers, so a coach isn’t going to be so attractive any more, so why not focus on shorter distance passengers instead?

2. Is Maxim Park necessary to qualify for the fuel rebates (rather than running non-stop to Harthill)?

 

[Unstoppable]

Could Maxim Park be reduced to be served during the peak only? I frequently travel off peak and hardly anyone ever gets on or off outside of the peak. I’m aware there’s a possibility that Eurocentral could be part funding this though.

I myself can’t see Citylink expanding the service beyond the current every 15 minutes but maybe they will. I would like to see a half hourly or every 20 minutes 900X which could be non stop from one Bus Station to the other. I think that could be very popular.

If the regular 900 was to then serve everywhere else all at the same time then that could allow you to move people quicker. This could run every 30 minutes.

A friend of mine suggested extending the AIR through to Edinburgh city centre, and to Glasgow Airport at the other end. That would allow for connections between both cities and airports. You’d obviously have to have a limit as to what you can do with this as there’s a chance people might get on the AIR who don’t need to, thus leaving behind those who need to.

From the timetable change apparently after 19:00 apparently the 900 will service both Baillieston and Eurocentral. Deer Park is to be completely dropped from late night services. The biggest issue with service expansion is the lack of drivers

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Oct 2022 ==

Has the 900 operated every 10 minutes before?

The problem if the AIR service runs to Edinburgh City Centre or Glasgow Airport is reliability. Also is the ticketing as the AIR service has higher fares to the airport.

If I buy a Glasgow to Edinburgh return, can I use it on a 909 that goes from Glasgow to Edinburgh?

A couple of years back at peak times the 900 operated every 10 minutes

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Oct 2022 ==

Yes I’m pretty sure it’s valid but no doubt you’ll probably get the driver saying ‘you’re on the wrong bus’.

I’m guessing part of the reason it’s been cut back as that it’s been awarded to another operator or it is changing depot perhaps? I know the M8/M9 are picking up the gaps though.

Technically an Edinburgh - Glasgow ticket isn't valid on the 909. The ticket machine shows a dearer fare for the journey. I can't see anyone having an issue with it though if you explain you want to go the scenic way

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Oct 2022 ==

1. Interesting changes by the sounds of it, i assumed pre-pandemic that CityLink were slowly giving up on the middle distance stuff, allowing gaps to be filled by the likes of the Stagecoach X56 (Edinburgh-Perth) and X7 (Perth-Aberdeen) as well as speeding up of the X54 (Edinburgh-Dundee) to avoid Dunfermline. CityLink seemed to be slowly scaling back from those kind journeys and pulling out of central Dunfermline/ Stirling/ Perth as the focus became more about fast services from Edinburgh/ Glasgow to Aberdeen/Inverness (with a stop at Halbeath/In Broxburn instead). Had the success of Ember forced them to throw more resources at places like Auchterarder, rather than ignoring smaller towns? Or is this evidence that ScotRail have finally got their finger out and provided sufficient seats on the old HSTs for the long distance passengers, so a coach isn’t going to be so attractive any more, so why not focus on shorter distance passengers instead?

2. Is Maxim Park necessary to qualify for the fuel rebates (rather than running non-stop to Harthill)?

Citylink don't see the railway as a competitor. The amount of pax gained from the railway wrong and embarrassing wrongdoing in recent times is outstanding. They are willing to blow a lot of money now to keep Flix away from expanding. The likes of the 900 and Aberdeen are gold mines

 

[Jordan Adam]

1. Interesting changes by the sounds of it, i assumed pre-pandemic that CityLink were slowly giving up on the middle distance stuff, allowing gaps to be filled by the likes of the Stagecoach X56 (Edinburgh-Perth) and X7 (Perth-Aberdeen) as well as speeding up of the X54 (Edinburgh-Dundee) to avoid Dunfermline. CityLink seemed to be slowly scaling back from those kind journeys and pulling out of central Dunfermline/ Stirling/ Perth as the focus became more about fast services from Edinburgh/ Glasgow to Aberdeen/Inverness (with a stop at Halbeath/ Broxburn instead). Had the success of Ember forced them to throw more resources at places like Auchterarder, rather than ignoring smaller towns? Or is this evidence that ScotRail have finally got their finger out and provided sufficient seats on the old HSTs for the long distance passengers, so a coach isn’t going to be so attractive any more, so why not focus on shorter distance passengers instead?

2. Is Maxim Park necessary to qualify for the fuel rebates (rather than running non-stop to Harthill)?

The Stagecoach X54 and Citylink do not presently serve Dunfermline. Both serve Halbeath Park And Ride and will continue to do so after these changes.

Stirling will have a much improved service with the M8 operating hourly rather than two hourly and all 909s serving the Uni, there will also be a twice per day 978 Edinburgh - Oban.

The main changes that were announced internally last month are:

• M8: will operate hourly Dundee to Glasgow
• M9: will operate hourly 24/7, will now serve Castleview P&R in Stirling.
• M10/M90: Additional journeys, all journeys will serve Pitlochry with an hourly combined frequency Perth - Inverness
• M92: will operate hourly Aberdeen to Edinburgh. Coordinated with the M9 to provide a half hourly frequency Aberdeen - Dundee.
• 909: revised to operate 2-hourly Edinburgh - Stirling Uni with Glasgow leg withdrawn (replaced by enhanced M8), all journeys will serve Bo'ness and Stirling Uni.
• 978: new service operating Edinburgh to Oban complimenting the 909.

The main aim of the changes is to simplify the network and reduce reliance on connecting services at Broxden.

 

[tbtc]

The Stagecoach X54 and Citylink do not presently serve Dunfermline. Both serve Halbeath Park And Ride and will continue to do so after these changes.

Stirling will have a much improved service with the M8 operating hourly rather than two hourly and all 909s serving the Uni, there will also be a twice per day 978 Edinburgh - Oban.

The main changes that were announced internally last month are:

• M8: will operate hourly Dundee to Glasgow
• M9: will operate hourly 24/7, will now serve Castleview P&R in Stirling.
• M10/M90: Additional journeys, all journeys will serve Pitlochry with an hourly combined frequency Perth - Inverness
• M92: will operate hourly Aberdeen to Edinburgh. Coordinated with the M9 to provide a half hourly frequency Aberdeen - Dundee.
• 909: revised to operate 2-hourly Edinburgh - Stirling Uni with Glasgow leg withdrawn (replaced by enhanced M8), all journeys will serve Bo'ness and Stirling Uni.
• 978: new service operating Edinburgh to Oban complimenting the 909.

The main aim of the changes is to simplify the network and reduce reliance on connecting services at Broxden.

Cheers, very interesting, feels like they are going back to being more like the CityLink of my youth, when they had simple/ regular services that went directly into city centres (rather than running as fast as possible to Aberdeen/ Inverness)

 

[FlybeDash8Q400]

Stirling will have a much improved service with the M8 operating hourly rather than two hourly and all 909s serving the Uni, there will also be a twice per day 978 Edinburgh - Oban.

The main changes that were announced internally last month are:

• M8: will operate hourly Dundee to Glasgow
• M9: will operate hourly 24/7, will now serve Castleview P&R in Stirling.
• M10/M90: Additional journeys, all journeys will serve Pitlochry with an hourly combined frequency Perth - Inverness
• M92: will operate hourly Aberdeen to Edinburgh. Coordinated with the M9 to provide a half hourly frequency Aberdeen - Dundee.
• 909: revised to operate 2-hourly Edinburgh - Stirling Uni with Glasgow leg withdrawn (replaced by enhanced M8), all journeys will serve Bo'ness and Stirling Uni.
• 978: new service operating Edinburgh to Oban complimenting the 909.

The main aim of the changes is to simplify the network and reduce reliance on connecting services at Broxden.

The 978 sounds like a nice addition for us in the Central and Eastern parts. Is this a permanent route or just seasonal?

 

[computerSaysNo]

The Stagecoach X54 and Citylink do not presently serve Dunfermline. Both serve Halbeath Park And Ride and will continue to do so after these changes.

Stirling will have a much improved service with the M8 operating hourly rather than two hourly and all 909s serving the Uni, there will also be a twice per day 978 Edinburgh - Oban.

The main changes that were announced internally last month are:

• M8: will operate hourly Dundee to Glasgow
• M9: will operate hourly 24/7, will now serve Castleview P&R in Stirling.
• M10/M90: Additional journeys, all journeys will serve Pitlochry with an hourly combined frequency Perth - Inverness
• M92: will operate hourly Aberdeen to Edinburgh. Coordinated with the M9 to provide a half hourly frequency Aberdeen - Dundee.
• 909: revised to operate 2-hourly Edinburgh - Stirling Uni with Glasgow leg withdrawn (replaced by enhanced M8), all journeys will serve Bo'ness and Stirling Uni.
• 978: new service operating Edinburgh to Oban complimenting the 909.

The main aim of the changes is to simplify the network and reduce reliance on connecting services at Broxden.

Is there a news article/release for this yet?
Also is there a comparison with the current routes/frequencies? If not I'll make one and post it.

 

[InOban]

Will this new 978 be operated from Oban by West Coast Motors on behalf of Citylink ?

 

[Jordan Adam]

The 978 timetable is now on BusTimes - https://bustimes.org/services/978-edinburgh-oban

Will this new 978 be operated from Oban by West Coast Motors on behalf of Citylink ?

Based on the timings presumably yes.

 

[InOban]

Thanks. I assume the pause at Tyndrum is for a connection with a Fort William service which makes great sense.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Thanks. I assume the pause at Tyndrum is for a connection with a Fort William service which makes great sense.

Indeed, looks like it connects with the 914.

 

[FlybeDash8Q400]

Indeed, looks like it connects with the 914.

Very useful. This 978 definitely has potential so let’s hope it’s just the start.

A morning departure from Edinburgh with an evening departure from Oban certainly could work too. It’d be nice to see the 913 become a year round thing eventually as well.

 

[route101]

Will the 978 go via Perth or the A84?

 

[FlybeDash8Q400]

Will the 978 go via Perth or the A84?

It’s going via the A84.

 

[route101]

It’s going via the A84.

That would a good journey to do depending on timings.

 

[overthewater]

All those changes do is bring back what we used to have, M8 used to be houlry Dundee - Glasgow. The 978 used to operate years ago,

 

[Man of Kent]

2. Is Maxim Park necessary to qualify for the fuel rebates (rather than running non-stop to Harthill)?

It's 22 miles from Glasgow to Harthill, so at least one stop is necessary to allow journeys of less than 15 miles which qualify for Bus Service Operators' Grant. Baillieston-Harthill is only about half a mile inside this qualification.

 

[InOban]

I recall from a different thread that there is a twice-weekly contracted bus from Stirling to Tyndrum (which otherwise had no public transport to its county town ). I assume that this can be discontinued? It's even possible that the Council is supporting the new service.

Also, I think that the connecting FW coach may be an additional service ; I think that in previous winter timetables there were just 4 services between FW and Glasgow.

 

[Unstoppable]

The extra services provide more reasons to leave the serverely unreliable train behind and travel by coach. The 978 is a great plan but I don't agree with it being effectively a 909 (minus Bo'ness) after Stirling towards Edinburgh. The system doesn't currently provide me with the company who are running the 978 but I would hazard a guess at saying WCM going by the timings. Then again, Scotlands Cleaning Force (covid joke) Parks of Hamilton love hoovering up runs like this for minimal profit.

On another note I wonder if this service will wave the end to First bus, sorry McGills, running their Christmas time service between Stirling and Tyndrum.